Career
Ueland has served in senior positions in the United States Senate since 1996,including as chief of staff for Republican Senate majority leader Bill Frist and Assistant Majority Leader Don Nickles. Roll Call described Ueland as a "longtime budget and Senate rules expert" who is "regarded as one of the smarter procedural strategists for the Republicans." [7]
From 2007 to 2013,Ueland was vice president of the Duberstein Group. He has served as the Republican Staff Director of the United States Senate Committee on the Budget since being hired by Jeff Sessions in 2013. Ueland was a member of Donald Trump's 2016 transition team. [8]
He was President Donald Trump's first nominee to become Under Secretary of State for Management in June 2017. [9] His unsuccessful nomination was withdrawn in June 2018 in favor of Brian Bulatao. [10]
Between October 2018 and March 2019,Ueland served as the director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources at the Department of State. [4] In April 2019,he joined the White House as a Deputy Assistant to the President and deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council. [11] He served in this position until June 2019 when he became the Director of Legislative Affairs. [11]
In June 2020,Ueland left the White House to serve as a Senior Advisor for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs at the Department of State. [11]
In July 2020,Ueland was nominated to be the next under secretary of state for civilian security,democracy,and human rights, [12] a position which was vacant over the first three and a half years of the Trump Administration.
In November 2020,Ueland became the bureau's Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary. On December 21,2020,he was tapped to lead the Office of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security,Democracy,and Human Rights in an acting capacity with the title of "Senior Official." [4] On December 30,2020,his nomination was withdrawn by the Trump Administration. [13]
In June 2022,Ueland was appointed by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as commissioner to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF),"an independent,bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor,analyze,and report on religious freedom abroad". He was reappointed to the Commission in June 2024 by Senator Mitch McConnell,for a second term. He was elected Vice-Chair of USCIRF and declared:“Together with Chair Schneck and my colleagues,I am eager to continue our shared efforts to call out foreign governments perpetrating or tolerating severe violations of the fundamental,universal right to religious freedom." [14] [15] Ueland served as commissioner to the USCIRF until January 2025.
From January 2021 until January 2025,Ueland operated Ueland Consulting LLC,on whose behalf he consulted for the American Hospital Association,APTS,Humana Health,Commonwealth Fund,Heritage Foundation,and the America First Policy Institute. From July 2022 until January 2025 he served as an Advisory Board member at the Center for Constitutional Liberty,Benedictine College. [16] Ueland served as a Visiting Fellow at the Heritage Foundation from March 2023 until December 2024 and as a volunteer for the Trump Vance Transition. [17]
From January 2025 until May 2025,Ueland served as Senior Advisor and Acting Chief of Staff at the Office of Management and Budget. On May 14,2025,he was confirmed 52–45 by the U.S. Senate and on May 21,2025,assumed office as Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). [18] On August 26,2025,Ueland’s designation was announced as Acting Director of the United States Office of Government Ethics. [19] . He served as Acting Director of OGE through December 3,2025.
