The deputy secretary of commerce is a high-ranking position within the U.S. Department of Commerce. It was created on December 13,1979,when President Jimmy Carter sent a letter to the U.S. Senate and nominated Luther H. Hodges Jr.,who then currently held the title of under secretary of commerce. The deputy secretary serves as the department’s chief operating officer,with responsibility for the day-to-day management of its approximately $11.4 billion budget,13 operating units,and 46,000 employees. In that capacity,the deputy secretary is also a member of the President’s Management Council. The current deputy secretary is Don Graves,who was sworn in on May 14,2021.
Maria Cino is an American public servant and political operative of the Republican Party. She served in the United States Department of Commerce and served as acting United States Secretary of Transportation during the George W. Bush administration.
The under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere,or USC(OA),is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States secretary of commerce on the environmental and scientific activities of the department. The under secretary is dual hatted as the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Commerce Department.
The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (SAF/AQ) is a civilian position in the Department of the Air Force that is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. This position is established under Title 10 US Code Section 9016 and is one of five Assistant Secretary positions under the Secretary of the Air Force. The Assistant Secretary reports to the Secretary of the Air Force.
Barack Obama assumed office as 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.
David Peter Pekoske is an American government official and retired U.S. Coast Guard vice admiral who has served as the seventh administrator of the Transportation Security Administration in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since 2017. He served as the acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security from April to November 2019 and again from January to June 2021. From January 20,2021 to February 2,2021 he served as acting secretary of homeland security,during the Senate confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas. Pekoske retired with 33 years of active military service in 2010 as the 26th vice commandant of the Coast Guard.
John Joseph Sullivan is an American attorney and government official who served as the United States Ambassador to Russia from 2020 to 2022,and who previously served as the 19th United States Deputy Secretary of State from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party,Sullivan served as Acting United States Secretary of State from April 1,2018,to April 26,2018,following President Donald Trump's dismissal of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on March 13,2018,until Tillerson's official successor,Mike Pompeo,was sworn in. Tillerson did not officially leave office until March 31,2018. Sullivan,however,was delegated all responsibilities of the Secretary of State beginning March 13.
Polly Ellen Trottenberg is an American government official who is serving as Deputy Secretary of Transportation under Pete Buttigieg since April 14,2021. She served as the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration from June 2023 to October 2023. She previously served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation from 2014 to 2020.
Caroline Diane Krass is an American attorney and government official who currently serves as the General Counsel of the Department of Defense.
Donald Trump assumed office as president of the United States on January 20,2017,and his term ended 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.
Carol Zelis Perez is a career Foreign Service Officer,who previously served as the Director General of the Foreign Service. Perez served as the U.S. Ambassador to Chile from October 2016 to January 2019.
Elaine Costanzo Duke is an American civil servant and former United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security,serving from April 10,2017 until April 15,2018. She became acting Secretary of Homeland Security on July 31,2017,when John F. Kelly assumed the office of White House Chief of Staff. She left the acting position on December 6,2017,upon the confirmation of Kirstjen Nielsen.
Patrick Pizzella is a former American government official who served as the 36th United States Deputy Secretary of Labor from April 17,2018 to January 20,2021. He was formerly a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority appointed by President Barack Obama. He held positions in several agencies during four prior Administrations. In 2019,after the resignation of Alexander Acosta,Pizzella served as the acting United States Secretary of Labor for more than 2 months. He currently serves as the elected Mayor of the village of Pinehurst,North Carolina.
Jonathan Raphael Cohen is an American diplomat and most recently served as the United States Ambassador to Egypt from November 17,2019 to March 31,2022. He previously served as the United States Deputy Representative to the United Nations. From August 2016 to June 2018 he served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. He was nominated by President Donald Trump in early 2018 to become United States Deputy Representative to the United Nations and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on May 24,2018. On January 1,2019,Cohen assumed acting duties of Ambassador to the United Nations following the resignation of Nikki Haley the previous day;with the installation of her successor Kelly Craft in September,he relinquished those duties.
Andrea Joan Palm is an American government health advisor who is the United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration. Previously,Palm served as secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services from 2019 to 2021 in the administration of Governor Tony Evers,an office she was never sworn into due to Republican opposition in the Wisconsin Senate.
Joe Biden assumed office as 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.
Marisa Lago is an American attorney serving as the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. She previously served as director of the New York City Department of City Planning and chair of the City Planning Commission from 2017 to 2021. Before that,Lago served as assistant secretary for international markets and development in the United States Department of the Treasury from 2010 to 2017,and as president and chief executive officer of the Empire State Development Corporation from 2008 to 2009.
Adrianne Regina Todman is an American government official who has served as the deputy secretary of housing and urban development in the Biden administration since June 2021. Todman was previously the CEO of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials and also worked in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Todman has served as acting secretary of housing and urban development since March 2024.
