The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) is an American conservative think tank based in Austin,Texas. The organization was co-founded in 1989 by James R. Leininger and Fritz S. Steiger,who sought intellectual support for his education reform ideas,including public school vouchers. Projects of the organization include Right on Crime,which is focused on criminal justice reform,and Fueling Freedom,which seeks to "explain the forgotten moral case for fossil fuels" by rejecting some opinions on climate change.
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government,part of the Executive Office of the President (EOP),established by United States Congress on May 11,1976,with a broad mandate to advise the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.
Counselor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States and senior members of the White House Office.
The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff,who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The staff work for and report directly to the president,including West Wing staff and the president's senior advisers. Almost all of the White House Office staff are political appointees of the president,do not require Senate confirmation and can be dismissed at the discretion of the president.
Douglas William Domenech is an American government official who served as the Assistant United States Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021. He is a former George W. Bush administration political appointee who served in roles of Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States Department of the Interior,and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior,as well as having held a position on the White House Working Group on the Political Status of Puerto Rico.
Neera Tanden is an American political consultant and government official who served as director of the United States Domestic Policy Council from 2023 to 2025. Tanden previously served as a senior advisor and staff secretary to President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2023 and as president of the Center for American Progress (CAP),a center-left policy research and advocacy organization,where she worked in different capacities since its founding in 2003 until she joined the Biden administration in 2021.
Benjamin J. Rhodes is an American writer,a political commentator,and a former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting under President Barack Obama. With Jake Sullivan,he is the co-chair of National Security Action,a political NGO. He contributes to NBC News and MSNBC regularly as a political commentator. He is also a Crooked Media contributor,and co-host of the foreign policy podcast Pod Save the World.
Elizabeth Neumann is an American former homeland security official. In the Trump administration she served from February 2017 to April 2020 as a senior advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to DHS Secretary John Kelly and Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke,and as DHS Assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention and Security Policy to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen,Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan,and Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf. She served on the Homeland Security Council staff in the George W. Bush administration starting in 2003.
Elizabeth D. Sherwood-Randall is an American national security and energy leader,public servant,educator,and author who served as the 11th United States Homeland Security Advisor in the Biden administration from 2021 to 2025. She previously served in both the Clinton and Obama administrations and held appointments at academic institutions and think tanks.
Stephen Miller is an American political advisor who is currently the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and United States homeland security advisor. He previously served as a senior advisor for policy and White House director of speechwriting to President Donald Trump's first term. His politics have been described as far-right and anti-immigration.
The second presidential transition of Donald Trump began when he won the United States presidential election on November 5,2024,and became the president-elect. Trump was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 17,2024. The results were certified by a joint session of Congress on January 6,2025,and the transition concluded when Trump was inaugurated on January 20,2025.
Reed S. Cordish is a fourth-generation American real estate developer,former professional tennis player,and former senior aide to President Donald Trump.
The Office of American Innovation (OAI) was an office within the White House Office that existed from 2017 until 2021 during the Trump administration. Under Jared Kushner,The office's purpose was to be the liaison between the White House and the American tech industry as part of an effort to reform the federal bureaucracy by applying pragmatic business principles.
The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank that was founded in 2021 to promote Donald Trump's public policy agenda. The organization was founded by Brooke Rollins,who serves as president and CEO and was formerly the acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council under Trump,and Larry Kudlow,who serves as vice chair and formerly served as the Director of the National Economic Council under Trump. The chairperson of the organization is Linda McMahon,who formerly served as Administrator of the Small Business Administration under Trump and then as chairwoman of America First Action,a pro-Trump Super PAC.
Kathleen Hartnett White was a Republican American former government official and environmental policy advisor. White served as a senior fellow at the free-market think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation. She was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Council on Environmental Quality;the nomination was later withdrawn.
Michael George Glen Waltz is an American politician,businessman,author,and colonel for the 20th Special Forces Group within the Florida Army National Guard who is the 29th and current U.S. National Security Advisor. He previously served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 6th congressional district from 2019 to 2025. He is a member of the Republican Party and is the first "Green Beret" to be elected to the United States Congress.
Shahira Knight is an American economist and lobbyist. Knight served as director of legislative affairs for President Donald Trump from July 2018 to May 2019,and also acted as his economic policy advisor. During her tenure in the White House Office,she played a critical role in passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
Bernard L. McNamee is an American attorney and former government official who served as Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from 2018 to 2020. Nominated to the position by President Donald Trump,McNamee was confirmed to the position by the United States Senate on December 6,2018.
The core White House staff appointments,and most Executive Office of the President officials generally,are not required to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate,with a handful of exceptions. There are about 4,000 positions in the Executive Office of the President.
Paul Bledsoe is an American academic,author,and expert in public and environmental policies. He is also a public servant,having served as the communications director of the Clinton administration’s White House Climate Change Task Force.
