Political appointments by Donald Trump
This is a list of political appointments of current officeholders made by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Links to lists of announced positions from which candidates have withdrawn or appointees who have resigned or have been terminated, as well as lists of appointments to [|other independent agencies] and of holdovers from previous administrations are below.
Following President Trump's election, there were around 4,000 political appointment positions which the incoming Trump administration needed to review, and fill or confirm, of which 1,212 required Senate confirmation. The Washington Post has identified 705 key positions requiring U.S. Senate confirmation., 513 of Trump's nominees for key positions had been confirmed, 114 were awaiting confirmation, and 8 had been announced but not yet formally nominated, a total of 552 positions. Trump has said he intends not to fill many of the positions. The rules of the Senate require that when the term of the Senate expires, nominations then pending lapse and are returned to the president, who can resubmit them to the new Congress.
All members of the Cabinet require confirmation by the United States Senate following nomination by the president prior to taking office. The vice presidency is exceptional in that the position requires election to office pursuant to the United States Constitution. Although some positions are of Cabinet-level rank, non-cabinet members within the Executive Office of the President, such as White House chief of staff, national security advisor, and White House press secretary, do not hold constitutionally created positions and most do not require Senate confirmation for appointment. Persons appointed on an acting basis do not require Senate confirmation before they begin to act in their position, even if a permanent appointment to that position would require confirmation. Appointments to judgeships on federal courts and of ambassadors require nomination by the president and confirmation by the Senate. Acting appointments to these positions are not permissible.
Analysis
Certain news organizations, such as Politico and Newsweek, called Trump's incomplete cabinet a "conservative dream team" or "the most conservative cabinet ." On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal stated that "it's nearly impossible to identify a clear ideological bent in the incoming president's" cabinet nominations. The Wall Street Journal also stated that Trump's nominations signaled a pro-deregulation administration policy.Among Donald Trump's appointments there have been several former Goldman Sachs employees, such as Steven Mnuchin, Steven Bannon, and Gary Cohn, as well as several generals, such as Michael T. Flynn, James Mattis, and John F. Kelly. These appointments have generated some criticism, including allegations of violations of the principle of civilian control of the military and allegations of regulatory capture. The Democratic senator from Missouri, Claire McCaskill, has criticized Donald Trump's cabinet stating; "I call it the three 'G' Cabinet: Goldman, generals and gazillionaires."
On January 18, 2017, two days before Trump's inauguration, it was reported that Trump had by then nominated only 28 people to fill 690 positions requiring Senate confirmation. In particular, there had been no nominations below the Cabinet level for the departments of State or Defense, and the staff for the National Security Council was incomplete, while none of the NSC leadership had any NSC experience.
On February 28, 2017, Trump announced he did not intend on filling many of the numerous governmental positions that were still vacant, as he considered them unnecessary. According to CNN on February 25, there were nearly 2,000 vacant government positions.
Color key
Denotes appointees serving in offices that did not require Senate confirmation.Denotes appointees confirmed by the Senate.
Denotes appointees awaiting Senate confirmation.
Denotes appointees serving in an acting capacity.
Denotes appointees who have left office or offices which have been disbanded.
Denotes nominees who were withdrawn prior to being confirmed or assuming office.
Executive Office of the President
Department of Agriculture
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of Agriculture | Sonny Perdue | April 25, 2017 | |
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture | Stephen Censky | October 10, 2017 |
Department of Commerce
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of Commerce | Wilbur Ross | February 28, 2017 | |
Deputy Secretary of Commerce | Karen Dunn Kelley | November 29, 2017 | November 29, 2018 |
Deputy Secretary of Commerce | Karen Dunn Kelley | November 29, 2018 |
Department of Defense
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of Defense | Mark Esper | June 24, 2019 | July 15, 2019 |
Secretary of Defense | Mark Esper | July 23, 2019 | |
Deputy Secretary of Defense | David Norquist | January 2, 2019 | July 23, 2019 |
Deputy Secretary of Defense | David Norquist | July 31, 2019 |
Department of Education
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of Education | Betsy DeVos | February 7, 2017
| |
| Deputy Secretary of Education | Mick Zais | May 17, 2018 |
Department of Energy
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of Energy | Dan Brouillette | December 4, 2019 | |
Deputy Secretary of Energy | Mark Menezes | Upon Senate confirmation | |
Under Secretary of Energy | Mark Menezes | November 6, 2017 |
Department of Health and Human Services
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of Health and Human Services | Alex Azar | January 29, 2018 | |
Secretary of Health and Human Services | Eric Hargan | October 10, 2017 | January 28, 2018 |
Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services | Eric Hargan | October 6, 2017 |
Department of Homeland Security
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of Homeland Security | Chad Wolf | November 13, 2019 | |
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security | Ken Cuccinelli | November 13, 2019 |
Department of Housing and Urban Development
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | Ben Carson | March 2, 2017 | |
Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | Brian D. Montgomery | TBD | |
Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | Brian D. Montgomery | January 17, 2019 | |
Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | Brian D. Montgomery | June 5, 2018 | |
Federal Housing Commissioner | Brian D. Montgomery | June 5, 2018 |
Department of the Interior
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of the Interior | David Bernhardt | January 2, 2019 | April 11, 2019 |
Secretary of the Interior | David Bernhardt | April 11, 2019 | |
Deputy Secretary of the Interior | Katharine MacGregor | September 30, 2019 | |
Deputy Secretary of the Interior | Katharine MacGregor | February 25, 2020 |
Department of Justice
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | left office |
Attorney General | William Barr | February 14, 2019 | |
Deputy Attorney General | Jeffrey A. Rosen | May 22, 2019 |
Department of Labor
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of Labor | Eugene Scalia | September 30, 2019 | |
Secretary of Labor | Patrick Pizzella | July 20, 2019 | September 30, 2019 |
Deputy Secretary of Labor | Patrick Pizzella | April 17, 2018 |
Department of State
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of State | Mike Pompeo | April 26, 2018 | |
Deputy Secretary of State | Stephen Biegun | December 21, 2019 | |
Deputy Secretary of State | Stephen Biegun | December 21, 2019 |
Department of Transportation
Department of the Treasury
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Secretary of the Treasury | Steven Mnuchin | February 13, 2017 | |
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury | Justin Muzinich | December 12, 2018 |
Department of Veterans Affairs
Independent intelligence agencies
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Central Intelligence Agency
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | Gina Haspel | April 26, 2018 | May 21, 2018 |
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | Gina Haspel | May 21, 2018 | |
Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | Vaughn Bishop | August 1, 2018 | |
General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency | Courtney Simmons Elwood | June 6, 2017 |
Other independent agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | Andrew R. Wheeler | July 9, 2018 | February 28, 2019 |
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | Andrew R. Wheeler | February 28, 2019 | |
Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | Douglas Benevento | Upon Senate confirmation | |
Chief Financial Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency | Holly Greaves | March 15, 2018 | |
General Counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency | Matthew Leopold | January 9, 2018 | |
Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency | Sean O'Donnell | January 27, 2020 | |
Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | Alexandra Dunn | January 3, 2019 | |
Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | Susan Bodine | January 5, 2018 | |
Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | Chad McIntosh | TBD | |
Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | Peter C. Wright | TBD | |
Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | David Ross | January 22, 2018 |
Small Business Administration
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Administrator of the Small Business Administration | Jovita Carranza | January 14, 2020 | |
Chief Counsel of Advocacy for the Small Business Administration | David Christian Tryon | Upon Senate confirmation | |
Inspector General of the Small Business Administration | Hannibal Ware | May 24, 2018 |
Federal Reserve System
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Chairman of the Federal Reserve | Jerome Powell | February 5, 2018 | |
Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve | Richard Clarida | September 17, 2018 | |
Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal Reserve | Randal Quarles | October 13, 2017 | |
Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System | Christopher Waller | Upon Senate confirmation | |
Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System | Michelle Bowman | November 26, 2018 | |
Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System | Michelle Bowman | TBD | |
Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System | Randal Quarles | July 18, 2018 | |
Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System | Richard Clarida | September 17, 2018 | |
Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System | Judy Shelton | Upon Senate confirmation |
NASA
| Office | Nominee | Assumed office | Left office |
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration | James Bridenstine | April 23, 2018 | |
Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration | James Morhard | October 17, 2018 | |
Executive Secretary of the National Space Council | Scott Pace | July 13, 2017 | |
Chief Financial Officer of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Jeff DeWit | April 3, 2018 |
Independent banks
Independent boards
Independent commissions
Independent committees
Independent councils
Independent offices
Independent miscellaneous
Appointees who have resigned or have been dismissed
Announced positions from which candidates have withdrawn
Pace of appointments and approvals
While President Trump tweeted on February 7, 2017, dissatisfaction – "It is a disgrace my Cabinet is not yet in place, the longest such delay in the history of our country"—the assertion was ruled false by the BBC based on a detailed review of the last five administrations. The analysis found more room for a general complaint of slowness in congressional action and that the administration "has by far the fewest confirmed cabinet selections at this point" but it also noted that, beyond the non-action on Judge Merrick Garland's 10-month nomination to the Supreme Court by Trump's predecessor, President Obama's "choice for Labor secretary, Thomas Perez, took 121 days to be confirmed. John Bryson, his commerce pick, waited 126 days. Attorney General Loretta Lynch holds the modern record, as 161 days passed before getting Senate approval."In an update on the March 2017 nomination of J. Christopher Giancarlo to the CFTC, the White House submitted his paperwork to the Senate committee in early May. "The paperwork is a prerequisite for the panel to advance the nomination with a hearing and an eventual committee vote, which now may not come until the summer or fall. The committee is said to be waiting for the administration to nominate individuals to fill two more vacancies at the commission before it holds the hearing, according to Senate aides and people familiar with the process," reported the Wall Street Journal.
In July 2017, the New York Times assessed the pace and reported that Trump had announced 36 percent of "leadership positions below the secretary level" compared with 78 percent by Obama over the same period. Average approval time has been nine days slower for Trump appointees versus Obama's. Ten of 15 Cabinet agencies had no number two, several deputy secretaries were not nominated until after the Administration's 100-day mark, and some had not yet been nominated.
By October 2017, Trump had made 412 nominations. By the same point in their respective presidencies, George W. Bush had made 640 nominations and Barack Obama had made 536 nominations.
In May 2018, assessing the administration's overall personnel approach, Evan Osnos reported in The New Yorker that "more than half of the six hundred and fifty-six most critical positions are still unfilled." He quoted Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service as saying "We've never seen vacancies at this scale Not anything close."