Due to Trump's lack of prior government or military experience, and his political positions,[83] much interest was expressed in the media over his cabinet nominations, as they were believed to show how he intended to govern.
Trump's proposed cabinet was characterized by the media as being very conservative. It was described as a "conservative dream team" by Politico,[84] "the most conservative cabinet [in United States history]" by Newsweek,[85] and "one of the most consistently conservative domestic policy teams in modern history" by the Los Angeles Times.[86]The Hill described Trump's potential cabinet as "an unorthodox team" popular with conservatives, that more establishment Republicans such as John McCain or Mitt Romney likely would not have chosen.[87]CNN agreed, calling the proposed cabinet "a conservative dream team of domestic Cabinet appointments."[88] 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.[89]The Wall Street Journal also stated that Trump's nominations signaled a pro-deregulation administration policy.[90] Several of his cabinet nominees politically opposed the federal departments they were selected to lead.[91]
In terms of total personal wealth, Trump's cabinet was the wealthiest in modern American history.[92] The cabinet was largely made up of nominees who had business experience but minimal or no experience in the government when compared to the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.[93] The Pew Research Center also noted that Trump's cabinet was one of the most business-heavy in American history: "A third of the department heads in the Trump administration (33%) were people whose prior experience had been entirely in the public sector. Only three other U.S. Presidents are in the same range: William McKinley (three out of eight Cabinet positions, or 37.5%), Ronald Reagan (four out of 13 positions, or 31%), and Dwight Eisenhower (three out of 10 positions, or 30%)."[94] There were no economists in President Trump's cabinet.[95] There were also significantly fewer lawyers in Trump's cabinet compared to previous presidents' cabinets.[96]
Confirmation delays
Despite being nominated promptly during the transition period, most cabinet members were unable to take office on Inauguration Day because of delays in the formal confirmation process. By February 8, 2017, President Trump had fewer cabinet nominees confirmed than any prior president two weeks into his mandate, except George Washington.[97][98] Part of the lateness was ascribed to opposition by Senate Democrats and part to delays in submitting background-check paperwork.[99] The final initial Cabinet member to take office, Robert Lighthizer, took office as U.S. Trade Representative on May 11, 2017, more than four months after his nomination.[100]
Choosing members of the presidential Cabinet (and other high-level positions) is a complicated process, and began before the November 2016 general election results were known. In the case of the Trump 2016 campaign, his former rival for the Republican nomination Chris Christie was appointed to lead the transition team in May 2016, shortly after Ted Cruz and John Kasich suspended their campaigns (thus making Trump the presumptive nominee of the party). In addition to various other responsibilities, the transition team is responsible for making preliminary lists of potential executive branch appointees—at least for the several dozen high-level positions if not for the several thousand lower-level positions—and doing some early vetting work on those people. The transition team also hires policy experts (more than a hundred in the case of the Trump transition team by October 2016), using primarily federal funds and federal office space, to help plan how a then-hypothetical Trump administration would implement their policy-goals via the various federal agencies and departments.
After the election on November 8, 2016, when the ticket formed by Trump and Pence defeated the Clinton and Kaine ticket as well as various third party opponents, the transition team was quickly reshuffled and expanded; Mike Pence was given the lead role (over Chris Christie), and several additional top-level transition personnel were added to the transition effort, most of them from the now-finished campaign effort. During the remainder of 2016, the team continued finding and vetting potential nominees for the various positions, as the Electoral College process was ongoing (including recounts in some states where the winning margin was relatively tiny) and before the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2017.
President-elect Trump announced his first post-election Cabinet nominee, Jeff Sessions for the role of United States Attorney General, on November 18, 2016. (Trump had earlier announced Mike Pence as his pick for vice-presidential running mate in July 2016, which was shortly thereafter confirmed by the delegates to the Republican National Convention when they officially nominated first Trump and then Pence.) Although most positions were simultaneously under consideration by the transition team, the official announcement of offers, and the public acceptance of the offers, usually happens gradually as slots are filled (Richard Nixon being the exception).
For purposes of historical comparison, this chart includes only Cabinet roles, and not the cabinet-level positions. However, note that the number of Cabinet positions has varied from administration to administration: under Nixon there were twelve such roles in 1968, whereas under Trump in 2016 there are fifteen.
Formation
After Election Day, media outlets reported on persons described by various sources as possible appointments to senior positions in the incoming Trump presidency. The number of people which have received media attention as potential cabinet appointees is higher than in most previous presidential elections, partly because the Trump '16 campaign staff (and associated PACs) was significantly smaller and less expensive,[106] thus there are not as many people already expected to receive specific roles in the upcoming Trump administration. In particular, "Trump ha[d] a smaller policy brain trust [policy group] than a new president normally carries"[107] because as an anti-establishment candidate who began his campaign by largely self-funding his way to the Republican Party nomination,[108] unlike most previous presidential winners "Trump does not have the traditional cadre of Washington insiders and donors to build out his Cabinet."[109] An additional factor that tends to make the field of potential nominees especially broad, is that unlike most presidential transition teams who select politicians as their appointees, the Trump transition team "has started with a mandate to hire from the private sector [as opposed to the governmental sector] whenever possible."[109]
Elected officials
President
Trump defeated the former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 presidential election, receiving 304 electoral votes compared to Clinton's 227 electoral votes. The formal certification of the results took place on January 6, 2017. He assumed office on January 20, 2017.
The vice president is the only cabinet member to be elected to the position who does not require Senate confirmation, and the vice president does not serve at the pleasure of the president. There were dozens of potential running mates for Trump who received media speculation. Trump's eventual pick of the governor of Indiana, Mike Pence, was officially announced on July 15, 2016, and confirmed by acclamation via parliamentary procedure amongst delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention on July 19, 2016.
Governor of Indiana Mike Pence was elected vice president of the United States, receiving 305 electoral votes, compared to Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), who received 227 electoral votes. The formal certification of the results took place on January 6, 2017. He assumed office on January 20, 2017.
Before Tillerson was sworn in, Tom Shannon served as the acting secretary from January 20 until February 1, 2017.
Rex Tillerson (2017–2018)
Rex Tillerson
President-elect Trump officially selected CEO of ExxonMobilRex Tillerson as Secretary of State on December 12, 2016.[112] Tillerson was first recommended to Trump for the secretary of state role by Condoleezza Rice, during her meeting with Trump in late November.[113] Rice's recommendation of Tillerson to Trump was backed up by Robert Gates three days later.[113]
Tillerson's confirmation hearing with the Foreign Relations committee was held on January 11, 2017. During the hearing, Tillerson voiced support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership and opposed a Muslim immigration ban that has been proposed by Donald Trump in the past.[114] Tillerson was approved by the Foreign Relations committee on January 23, 2017, by a vote of 11–10.[115] On February 1, Tillerson was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 56–43 and was sworn in later that day.[116]
John Sullivan (acting)
John J. Sullivan served as acting secretary from April 1, 2018, until April 26, 2018.
Mike Pompeo (2018–2021)
Mike Pompeo
On March 13, 2018, President Trump dismissed Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, and announced his nomination of CIA Director Mike Pompeo to the office.[117] On April 26, Pompeo was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 57–42 and was sworn in later that day.[118][119][120] He served until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
Secretary of the Treasury
The nomination of a Secretary-designate is reviewed during hearings held by the members of the Finance committee, then presented to the full Senate for a vote.
Adam Szubin (acting)
Adam Szubin served as acting secretary from January 20 until February 13, 2017.
Steven Mnuchin (2017–2021)
Steve Mnuchin
President-elect Trump announced the selection of investment banker Steve Mnuchin as Secretary of the Treasury on November 30, 2016.[121]The New York Times noted that Mnuchin's selection was surprising, since Trump had attacked the banking industry and Goldman Sachs during the campaign. Mnuchin is the third Goldman alumnus to serve as treasury secretary.[122]
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on January 19, 2017, Mnuchin was criticized by Democrats due to the foreclosure practices at his company OneWest.[123] Mnuchin also failed to disclose, in required disclosure documents, $95million of real estate he owned, and his role as director of Dune Capital International, an investment fund in a tax haven. Mnuchin described the omissions as mistakes made amid a mountain of bureaucracy.[124]
Democrats of the Finance Committee boycotted the vote of Mnuchin and many other nominees in response to Trump's controversial immigration executive order. On February 1, 2017, Republicans suspended committee rules to send the nomination to the Senate floor on a vote of 11–0.[125][124]
Mnuchin was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 53–47 on February 13, 2017. The vote fell along party lines with exception of Senator Joe Manchin as the sole Democratic vote for Mnuchin.[126][127] He served until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
Secretary of Defense
The nomination of a Secretary-designate is reviewed during hearings held by the members of the Armed Services committee, then presented to the full Senate for a vote.
Jim Mattis (2017–2019)
Jim Mattis
President-elect Trump informally announced the selection of General Jim Mattis as Secretary of Defense on December 1, 2016.[128] (The Trump Transition Team formally announced the selection on December 6, 2016.[129]) As with most cabinet roles, the Secretary-designate of Defense undergoes hearings before the appropriate committee of the United States Senate, followed by a confirmation-vote. In the case of Mattis, there was an additional step needed as he had retired from the military three years ago, since statute section 903(a) of the NDAA demands a minimum of seven years as a civilian for Pentagon appointees, therefore Mattis needed a waiver to be allowed to become Secretary of Defense.[130]
During his hearing, Mattis agreed with the assessment that debt was the greatest threat to national security. He placed Russia first among the "principal threats" facing the United States and called Iran "the primary source of turmoil" for unrest in the Middle East. In contrast with Trump's campaign promises, Mattis advocated for maintaining NATO and keeping the Iran Nuclear Deal. He urged for a clear cybersecurity doctrine to be implemented.[131][132][133]
On January 12, 2017, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted, 24–3, to grant the waiver. The full Senate voted, 81–17, to pass the waiver three hours later. After the Trump transition team canceled a meeting between Mattis and the House Armed Services Committee, the waiver narrowly passed the committee by a vote of 34–28. The House voted, 268–151, to grant the waiver.[134] The Senate Armed Services Committee approved Mattis's confirmation on January 18, 2017, by a 26–1 margin, and sent the nomination to the full Senate for consideration.[135] One of Donald Trump's first acts as president was the approval of Mattis's waiver to become Secretary of Defense. After being confirmed by the Senate on the evening of January 20, 2017, in a vote of 98–1, Mattis was sworn in by Vice President Pence on the same evening.[136]
On December 20, 2018, Secretary Mattis announced his intention to resign at the end of February 2019.[137][138] President Trump moved the departure date up to January 1, 2019.[139][140]
Five months later, in May, the White House announced its intent to nominate Shanahan to serve as Secretary of Defense on a permanent basis;[141] by June, Shanahan withdrew, citing family issues.[142]
Christopher C. Miller served as acting Secretary from November 9, 2020, to the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
Attorney General
The nomination of an Attorney General-designate is reviewed during hearings held by the members of the Judiciary committee, then presented to the full Senate for a vote.
Sally Yates (acting)
Sally Yates served as acting attorney general from January 20, 2017, until her firing ten days later, on January 30, 2017.
Dana Boente (acting)
On January 30, 2017, Trump appointed Dana Boente, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as acting Attorney General until Jeff Sessions' Senate confirmation.[146] Boente had replaced Sally Yates who was fired by Trump for ordering the Justice Department to not defend Trump's Executive Order 13769 which restricted entry to the United States.[147] Yates claimed that, "At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities [of the Department of Justice], nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful".[148][149] Boente served until the confirmation of Jeff Sessions on February 9, 2017.
Jeff Sessions (2017–2018)
Jeff Sessions
President-elect Trump officially announced the selection of Senator Jeff Sessions from Alabama as Attorney General on November 18, 2016.
Members of the Democratic party in the Senate had stated their intention to oppose Sessions; that said, successfully defeating the nomination of Sessions would have required peeling away the votes of at least two or three Republican members of the Senate body.[126] Republican members of the Judiciary Committee spoke favorably towards Sessions,[150] as Sessions had been a former member of the Judiciary Committee while serving as senator. Although Democratic party senators, including Elizabeth Warren, criticized Sessions, at least one Democratic Senator, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, stated he would vote to confirm Sessions.[150] Historically, there has never been a sitting senator appointed to cabinet position who was denied that post during the confirmation process.[150]
The confirmation process for Trump's nominee Senator Jeff Sessions was described as "strikingly contentious" by The New York Times;[151] as Senator Mitch McConnell invoked RuleXIX to silence Senator Elizabeth Warren for the rest of the consideration of the nomination. While explaining his use of the rule, McConnell said, "She [Warren] was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted."[152] The last three words, "Nevertheless, she persisted" were appropriated by feminist and liberals as a rally cry in favor of women's rights. McConnell interrupted Warren as she had read a letter by Coretta Scott King opposing Sessions' nomination to a federal judgeship along with several statements which were made by Senator Ted Kennedy in 1986 during Senate hearings on Sessions' nomination. Afterwards, Warren live-streamed herself reading the letter, critical of Sessions, that Coretta Scott King had written to Senator Strom Thurmond in 1986.[153]
On February 8, Sessions was confirmed as United States Attorney General by the Senate in a vote of 52–47, with all the Republican senators and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin voting in favor of Sessions' confirmation and all other senators voting against Sessions' confirmation. Sessions' confirmation ended a nomination battle which was described by The New York Times as "bitter and racially charged".[154]
With the resignation of Sessions on November 7, 2018, Trump appointed Sessions' chief of staff Matthew Whitaker to serve as acting attorney general.[158] Multiple legal challenges to Whitaker's appointment were filed.[159] All were dismissed.
William Barr (2019–2020)
William Barr
William Barr, a former Attorney General in the George H. W. Bush administration, was nominated to reprise his former role as the permanent replacement for Sessions on December 7, 2018. On February 14, 2019, he was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 54–45 and was sworn in later that day.[160] Barr announced that he would resign as attorney general on December 14, 2020, which came into effect on December 23, 2020.[161]
Jeffrey Rosen (acting)
Jeffrey A. Rosen became the acting Attorney General following the resignation of Barr on December 23, 2020. He served until the end of the Trump administration, January 20, 2021.
President-elect Trump announced the selection of Representative Ryan Zinke from Montana as Secretary of the Interior on December 15, 2016.[162] His nomination was approved by a 16–6 vote from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on January 31, 2017.[163] On March 1, 2017, Zinke was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 68–31, becoming the first Navy SEAL to occupy a Cabinet position.[164][165] Zinke resigned as Secretary of the Interior on January 2, 2019. Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt became Acting Secretary of the Interior.[166]
David Bernhardt (acting)
David Bernhardt served as acting secretary from January2 until April 11, 2019, when he was sworn in.
David Bernhardt (2019–2021)
David Bernhardt
On February 4, 2019, President Trump announced his intention to nominate Interior Deputy Secretary and Acting Secretary Bernhardt to be the next United States Secretary of the Interior. On April 11, 2019, Bernhardt was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 56–41. He served until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
Mike Young served as acting secretary from January 20 until April 25, 2017.
Sonny Perdue (2017–2021)
Sonny Perdue
President-elect Trump announced the selection of Sonny Perdue, former Governor of Georgia as Secretary of Agriculture on January 18, 2017.[167] On April 24, 2017, Perdue was confirmed by the Senate in an 87–11 vote. He served until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
President Trump left this position vacant until Ross was sworn in.
Wilbur Ross (2017–2021)
Wilbur Ross
President-elect Trump officially announced the selection of CEO Wilbur Ross from Florida (formerly of New York) on November 30, 2016. Confirmation hearings were originally scheduled for January 12, but were postponed because the Commerce Committee had not yet received the ethics agreement from the Office of Government Ethics and the Department of Commerce.[168] On February 27, 2017, he was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 72–27. He assumed office on February 28, 2017,[26] and served until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
President-elect Trump officially announced the selection of Andy Puzder, then CEO of CKE Restaurants as the Secretary of Labor on December 8, 2016. The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee (HELP) delayed Puzder's hearing five times due to missing paperwork from the Office of Government Ethics.[169] It was revealed that before the nomination Puzder employed a housekeeper who was not authorized to work in the U.S. Puzder failed to pay employer taxes. Puzder fired the housekeeper and amended his taxes only after his nomination.[170] Prior cabinet nominations from the Bush and Clinton administrations with undocumented housekeepers have had to withdraw their nominations.
On February 8, 2017, the Office of Government Ethics submitted Puzder's ethics paperwork to Congress.[171] It was also revealed Puzder's ex-wife Lisa Fierstein appeared in disguise on Oprah Winfrey's talk show in the 1980s. In the interview, she alleged Puzder beat her. She later recanted. Fierstein sent a letter to Congress shortly after his nomination stating, "Andy is not and was not abusive or violent." Complying with the HELP committee, the Oprah Winfrey Network produced tapes from the interview for members of the committee to view.[172] Four Republican Senators from the HELP committee–Susan Collins, Tim Scott, Johnny Isakson, and Lisa Murkowski–expressed doubt over Puzder's nomination.[170] On February 15, a day before his scheduled hearing, Puzder released a statement to the Associated Press officially withdrawing his nomination.[173]
Acosta announced his resignation on July 12, 2019, following widespread criticism of his handling of the prosecution of and subsequent plea deal with Jeffrey Epstein when serving as U.S. District Attorney in Florida. His deputy, Patrick Pizzella, became acting secretary.[175]
Patrick Pizzella (acting)
Patrick Pizzella served as acting secretary from July 20 until September 30, 2019.
Eugene Scalia (2019–2021)
Eugene Scalia
On July 18, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Eugene Scalia, the former Solicitor of Labor and the son of Antonin Scalia, to be Secretary of Labor;[176] the nomination became official on August 27.[177]
Almost exactly a month later, on September 26, Scalia was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 53–44.[178] He was sworn in four days later.[179] He served until the end of the Trump administration, January 20, 2021.
Norris Cochran served as acting secretary from January 20 until February 10, 2017.
Tom Price (2017)
Tom Price
President-elect Trump officially announced the selection of Representative Tom Price from Georgia as Secretary of Health and Human Services on November 28, 2016.[180][181][182] On February 10, 2017, Price was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 52–47, along party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats voting against.[183]
Price resigned on September 29, 2017, amid reports that he had expended more than $1million of department funds for his own travel on private charter jets and military aircraft.[184] Price is the shortest-serving confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services, with a tenure of just 231 days.[185]
Don J. Wright (acting)
Don J. Wright served as acting secretary from September 29, 2017, until his resignation on October 10, 2017.
Eric Hargan (acting)
Eric Hargan served as acting secretary from October 10, 2017, until January 29, 2018.
Alex Azar (2018–2021)
Alex Azar
On November 13, 2017, President Trump announced via Twitter that Alex Azar was his nominee to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services.[186] Azar was the former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under George W. Bush (2005–2007)[187] and president of Lilly USA, LLC, the largest affiliate of global biopharmaceutical leader Eli Lilly and Company from 2012 to 2017. On January 24, 2018, Azar was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 53–43. He took office on January 29, 2018,[188][189] and served until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
Craig Clemmensen served as acting secretary from January 20 until March 2, 2017.
Ben Carson (2017–2021)
Ben Carson
President-elect Trump announced the selection of Ben Carson as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on December 5, 2016.[190] During confirmation hearings, Carson was held under close scrutiny for his lack of relevant experience, and because he has been one of the most hostile critics of HUD's role in enforcing anti-discrimination laws.[191] On January 24, 2017, the Senate Banking Committee voted unanimously to approve the nomination, sending it to the Senate floor for a complete vote.[192] On March 2, 2017, Carson was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 58–41.[193] He served until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
With the resignation of Chao, her deputy, Steven G. Bradbury became acting Secretary on January 11, 2021, and served for the final days until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
On October 17, 2019, Perry informed President Trump that he planned to resign by the end of the year. On October 18, 2019, Trump nominated the Deputy Secretary of Energy, Dan Brouillette, to replace him; Perry left in early December.[201]
Dan Brouillette (2019–2021)
Dan Brouillette
Dan Brouillette, the Deputy Secretary, served as acting secretary from December2 until December 4, 2019. He was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 70–15, on December 2, 2019.[201] He served until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
Phil Rosenfelt served as acting secretary from January 20 until February 7, 2017.
Betsy DeVos (2017–2021)
Betsy DeVos
President-elect Trump officially announced the selection of former RNC member Betsy DeVos from Michigan as Secretary of Education on November 23, 2016.
Originally scheduled for January 11, but was postponed because the Office of Government Ethics had not completed its review of DeVos' financial holdings and potential conflicts of interest.[202] On January 20, the Office of Government Ethics completed their ethics report on DeVos, three days after her hearing with the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions was held. Senate Democrats requested a second hearing for DeVos after the ethics report was released, but committee chair Senator Lamar Alexander denied it. DeVos repeatedly said she would divest from 102 companies within ninety days if confirmed.[203][204][205] On February 7, 2017, the full senate voted 51–50–with Vice President Pence casting the tie-breaking vote–to confirm DeVos, with Pence becoming the first vice president to cast the tie-breaking vote for a cabinet nominee [206][207] ever. DeVos resigned on January 7, 2021, due to the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack,[208] effective the next day.
Mick Zais (acting)
Deputy Secretary Mick Zais succeeded DeVos in an acting capacity on January 8, 2021, and served for the final days until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
In February 2018, the VA inspector general issued a report criticizing Shulkin for misusing department funds to pay for his and his wife's personal travel.[210] On March 28, President Trump fired him.[211]
Robert Wilkie (acting)
Robert Wilkie served as acting secretary from March 28 until May 29, 2018.
Peter O'Rourke (acting)
Peter O'Rourke served as acting secretary from May 29 until July 30, 2018.
Failed nomination of Ronny Jackson
President Trump initially said he would replace Shulkin with Ronny Jackson, his White House personal physician.[212] Senators expressed skepticism of the nomination due to Jackson's lack of management experience.[213] Current and former employees on the White House Medical Unit accused Jackson of creating a hostile work environment, excessively drinking on the job, and improperly dispensing medication.[214] Trump defended Jackson as "one of the finest people that I have met", but hinted that Jackson might withdraw from being considered for the position.[215] Jackson withdrew his nomination on April 26.[216]
Robert Wilkie (2018–2021)
Robert Wilkie
President Trump nominated Former Defense Undersecretary and VA Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie on May 18, 2018, to replace Shulkin. On July 23, 2018, Wilkie was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 86–9. He served until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
President-elect Trump announced the selection of John F. Kelly, retired four-star Marine general as Secretary of Homeland Security on December 7, 2016.[217] He was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 88–11 and sworn in on the evening of January 20. Kelly's term ended on July 28, 2017, following his appointment as White House Chief of Staff.[218]
Elaine Duke (acting)
Elaine Duke served as acting secretary from July 31 until December 6, 2017.
Kevin McAleenan served as acting secretary from April 11 until November 13, 2019, when he resigned.
Chad Wolf (acting)
Chad Wolf served as acting secretary from November 13, 2019, until he resigned on January 11, 2021.
Pete Gaynor (acting)
Pete Gaynor, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, succeeded Wolf in an acting capacity on January 12, 2021[225] and served for the final days until the end of the Trump administration, on January 20, 2021.
Cabinet-level officials have positions that are considered to be of Cabinet level, but which are not part of the Cabinet. Which exact positions are considered part of the presidential cabinet, can vary with the president. The CIA and FEMA were cabinet-level agencies under Bill Clinton, but not George W. Bush. The head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (aka the drug czar) was a cabinet-level position under both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, but not under Barack Obama. (Not to be confused with the head of the DEA, who has remained in the org chart underneath the cabinet position held by the Attorney General.) Designation of an agency as being cabinet-level requires[citation needed] that Congress enact legislation, although executive orders unilaterally created by the president can be used to create many other types of position inside the executive branch.[citation needed] Members of the cabinet proper, as well as cabinet-level officials, meet with the president in a room adjacent to the Oval Office.
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff has traditionally been the highest-ranking employee of the White House. The responsibilities of the chief of staff are both managerial and advisory over the president's official business. The chief of staff is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the president; it does not require Senate confirmation.
Reince Priebus
Trump's selection of former RNC chair Reince Priebus from Wisconsin was officially announced on November 13, 2016. This role does not require Senate confirmation. The appointment of Steve Bannon as Chief Strategist was announced simultaneously. Although that strategy-role is not a Cabinet-level position in the statutory sense, in an "unusual arrangement"[226] Priebus and Bannon were envisioned by the Trump transition team as being equal partners, and were announced simultaneously.[227][228] With Priebus accepting a role within the administration, Ronna Romney McDaniel was elected to replace Priebus in his former role as RNC chair. Priebus resigned on July 28, 2017.[229]
John Kelly
On July 28, 2017, Trump announced his Secretary for Homeland Security, John Kelly, would serve as his chief of staff.[230] On December 8, 2018, Trump announced that Kelly would be leaving as chief of staff.[231]
Mick Mulvaney (acting)
OMB DirectorMick Mulvaney concurrently served as acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2, 2019, until March 31, 2020.
Mike Dempsey served in this position from January 20 until March 15, 2017.
Dan Coats
On January 7, 2017, Dan Coats, former senator of Indiana, was officially selected to be the Director of National Intelligence.[238] On March 15, 2017, Coats was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 85–12.[239] On August 15, 2019, Coats resigned from his position as Director of National Intelligence.
Joseph Maguire (acting)
Joseph Maguire took over as acting director on August 16, 2019. He resigned on February 21, 2020.
Richard Grenell (acting)
Richard Grenell took office as acting director on February 21, 2020, and resigned to take a position in the 2020 Trump Campaign.
John Lee Ratcliffe
Former Congressman John Ratcliffe was confirmed and assumed the position May 26, 2020.
Ambassador to the United Nations
Like all ambassadorships and all official Cabinet positions, the nominee for this ambassador to the U.N. requires confirmation by the Senate. The nomination of an Ambassador-designate to the United Nations is reviewed during hearings held by the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and then presented to the full Senate for a vote.
Michele Sison (acting)
Michele J. Sison served in this position from January 20 until January 27, 2017.
Nikki Haley
Haley sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on January 25, 2017
Trump officially announced Governor Nikki Haley from South Carolina as his selection for this role on November 23, 2016. She was confirmed on January 24, 2017, and subsequently resigned as South Carolina governor. Haley supported Marco Rubio in the Republican primaries and caucuses, but later endorsed Trump as the presumptive Republican nominee.[240] Haley's lieutenant governor, Henry McMaster, who was an early supporter of Trump, was also under consideration for a role in the Trump administration, but since he did not accept such a role, he succeeded to the governorship of South Carolina upon Haley's resignation.[241] On October 9, 2018, Haley announced that she was resigning her position as Ambassador effective at the end of 2018.[242][243]
Jonathan Cohen (acting)
Jonathan Cohen served in this position from June8 until November 17, 2019.
Failed nomination of Heather Nauert
On December 7, 2018, Trump nominated Heather Nauert for UN Ambassador.[244] Nauert withdrew her nomination on February 22, 2019.
Kelly Knight Craft
On February 22, 2019, Ambassador Kelly Craft was nominated by President Donald Trump to replace Nikki Haley, who had resigned two months prior, as his envoy to the United Nations.[245] Craft was confirmed on July 31, 2019.
In his statement to the Senate Budget Committee, Mulvaney admitted that he had failed to pay $15,000 in payroll taxes from 2000 to 2004 for a nanny he had hired to care for his triplets. Mulvaney said he did not pay the taxes because he viewed the woman as a babysitter rather than as a household employee. After filling out a questionnaire from the Trump transition team, he realized the lapse and began the process of paying back taxes and fees. Senate Democrats noted that Republicans had previously insisted that past Democratic nominees' failure to pay taxes for their household employees was disqualifying, including former Health and Human Services nominee Tom Daschle in 2009.[247][248]
Budget Chairman Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) noted on the Senate floor, "According to Senate records from President Jimmy Carter to President Obama, the longest it has ever taken to approve a first budget director for a new president was one week–one week."[249] On February 16, 2017, the Senate confirmed Mulvaney, 51–49.[250]
Russell Vought (acting)
Russell Vought has served in this position since January 2, 2019.
On March 13, 2018, Pompeo was named as secretary designate of the State Department following the dismissal of Rex Tillerson.
Gina Haspel (acting)
Gina Haspel served in this position from April 26, 2018, until May 21 when she was sworn in.
Gina Haspel
On March 13, 2018, President Trump announced via Twitter that he would nominate Gina Haspel to be the CIA director.[254] On May 17, Haspel was confirmed by the Senate in a 54–45 vote, officially giving her the post, and making her the first full-time female CIA director.
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
During his January 18 confirmation hearing, Pruitt's testimony openly acknowledged climate change. Pruitt declared the EPA has a "very important role" in regulating carbon dioxide emissions. Pruitt has sued the Environmental Protection Agency as the Attorney General of Oklahoma on more than a dozen occasions. When pressed by Senator Ed Markey on whether he would recuse himself from ongoing lawsuits, Pruitt "would not commit to recusing himself from all the cases he had brought."[259][260] Pruitt deflected questioning from Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the issue of whether human activity is largely responsible for climate change. Stating, "I believe the ability to measure, with precision, the degree of human activity's impact on the climate is subject to more debate on whether the climate is changing or whether human activity contributes to it."[261] Pruitt declined to comment on whether California could set its own emission standards and said he would review the policy.[262]
Amid 15 federal investigations of his conduct ranging from criminal record destruction to corrupt allocation of funds and abuse of power, Pruitt announced he would resign from office on July 6, 2018, leaving Andrew R. Wheeler as the acting head of the agency.[263][264][265]
Andrew Wheeler (acting)
Andrew R. Wheeler served in this position from July 9, 2018, until February 28, 2019, when he was sworn in.
Andrew Wheeler
On November 16, 2018, President Trump nominated Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler to the position full-time. Wheeler was confirmed by the senate on February 28, 2019, with a 52–47 vote.
Administrator of the Small Business Administration
McMahon earned approval votes from Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy from Connecticut, who had both defeated McMahon in their respective Senate races. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship, said, "Mrs. McMahon made it very clear that she has the experience, understanding and instincts necessary to bolster America's small business community and advocate for much-needed regulatory reforms."[268]
Chris Pilkerton (acting)
Chris Pilkerton served in this position from April 13, 2019, until January 14, 2020.
Trump released a list of his campaign's official economic advisers in August 2016,[273][274] which simultaneously was anti-establishment[275] and therefore leant on those with governmental experience,[276] yet at the same time aimed to include some members of business and finance.[273] Many of the listed names received media attention as potential appointees to the Council of Economic Advisers, or in other Trump administration roles.
↑ Apuzzo, Mark Landler, Matt; Lichtblau, Eric (January 30, 2017). "Trump Fires Acting Attorney General". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Emmarie Huetteman; Matt Flegenheimer; Julie Hirschfeld Davis (February 8, 2017), "Fireworks Before a Final Vote on Jeff Sessions", The New York Times, First 100 Days Briefing, archived from the original on July 11, 2018, retrieved February 8, 2017
Mark Saalfield Norris Sr. is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. He served as a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate from 2001 through 2018, serving as Majority Leader from 2007 to 2018.
Barack Obama assumed office as the 44th president of the United States on January 20, 2009, and his term ended on January 20, 2017. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
Kurt Damian Engelhardt is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Previously, he was the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The nomination and confirmation of justices to the Supreme Court of the United States involves several steps, the framework for which is set forth in the United States Constitution. Specifically, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, provides that the president of the United States nominates a justice and that the United States Senate provides advice and consent before the person is formally appointed to the Court. It also empowers a president to temporarily, under certain circumstances, fill a Supreme Court vacancy by means of a recess appointment. The Constitution does not set any qualifications for service as a justice, thus the president may nominate any individual to serve on the Court.
U.S. President Barack Obama nominated over 400 individuals for federal judgeships during his presidency. Of these nominations, Congress confirmed 329 judgeships, 173 during the 111th & 112th Congresses and 156 during the 113th and 114th Congresses.
Julie A. Su is an American attorney and government official who is serving as acting United States Secretary of Labor since 2023 and the 37th United States Deputy Secretary of Labor since 2021. Before assuming that post, Su was the California Labor Secretary, serving under Governor Gavin Newsom from 2019 to 2021, and was the California Labor Commissioner, overseeing California's Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), under Governor Jerry Brown from 2011 to 2018.
With the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the president of the United States appoints the members of the Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court of the federal judiciary of the United States. Following his victory in the 2016 presidential election, Republican Donald Trump took office as president on January 20, 2017, and faced an immediate vacancy on the Supreme Court due to the February 2016 death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.
This is a list of political appointments of current officeholders made by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Members of the Cabinet of the United States are nominated by the president and are then confirmed or rejected by the Senate. Listed below are unsuccessful cabinet nominees—that is, individuals who were nominated and who either declined their own nomination, failed the confirmation vote in the Senate, or whose nomination was withdrawn by the president. The latter category includes near nominations, meaning presumptive choices made by a president or president-elect that never progressed to formal nomination stage. Nominations to cabinet-rank positions are also included in this page.
On January 31, 2017, soon after taking office, President Donald Trump, a Republican, nominated Neil Gorsuch for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed Antonin Scalia, who had died almost one year earlier. Then-president Barack Obama, a Democrat, nominated Merrick Garland to succeed Scalia on March 16, 2016, but the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination. Majority leader Mitch McConnell declared that as the presidential election cycle had already commenced, it made the appointment of the next justice a political issue to be decided by voters. The Senate Judiciary Committee refused to consider the Garland nomination, thus keeping the vacancy open through the end of Obama's presidency on January 20, 2017.
David Longly Bernhardt is an American lawyer who served as the 53rd United States Secretary of the Interior from 2019 to 2021 in the administration of Donald Trump. He previously was a shareholder at the Colorado law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where he was an oil and energy industry lobbyist and natural resources attorney. He began working for the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) in 2001, and served as the department's solicitor from 2006 to 2009 and deputy secretary from 2017 to 2019.
Ryan Wesley Bounds is an American attorney serving as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Donald Trump, President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, entered office with a significant number of judicial vacancies, including a Supreme Court vacancy due to the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. During the first eight months of his presidency, he nominated approximately 50 judges, a significantly higher number than any other recent president had made by that point in his presidency. By June 24, 2020, 200 of his Article III nominees had been confirmed by the United States Senate. According to multiple media outlets, Trump significantly impacted the composition of the Supreme Court and lower courts during his tenure.
Andrew Lynn Brasher is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. He is a former solicitor general of Alabama.
On July 9, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. When nominated, Kavanaugh was a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a position he was appointed to in 2006 by President George W. Bush.
James David Cain Jr. is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
Cory Todd Wilson is an American attorney and jurist serving as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Wilson was previously a judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals and a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives.
Joe Biden assumed office as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
On September 26, 2020, President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to fill in the vacancy left by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At the time of her nomination, Barrett was a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, Illinois. The Senate received word from the president on September 29.
President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to assume office as the 47th president of the United States on January20, 2025.
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