The United States 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 most recent deputy secretary was Don Graves, who was sworn in on May 14, 2021 and resigned January 20, 2025.
History The deputy secretary serves as the principal deputy of the secretary of commerce in all matters affecting the department and performs continuing and special duties as the secretary may assign including, as may be specified by the secretary, the exercise of policy direction and general supervision over operating units not placed under other secretarial officers or other department officials. In addition, the deputy secretary acts as secretary if the secretary has died, resigned, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office of secretary.
List of deputy secretaries of commerce #ImageNameTerm beganTerm endedPresident(s) served under1Luther H. Hodges Jr.September 8, 1980January 20, 1981Jimmy Carter2Joseph Robert Wright Jr.January 29, 1981August 23, 1982Ronald Reagan3Guy W. FiskeAugust 24, 1982May 20, 19834Bud BrownMay 20, 1983July 12, 19885Donna F. TuttleJuly 12, 1988January 20, 19896Thomas J. MurrinFebruary 11, 1989April 17, 1991George H. W. Bush7Rockwell A. SchnabelApril 25, 1991January 20, 19938David J. BarramJanuary 27, 1993May 14, 1996Bill Clinton9Robert L. MallettMay 14, 1997January 20, 200110Samuel BodmanJanuary 22, 2001July 16, 2004George W. Bush11Theodore KassingerAugust 20, 2004July 21, 200512David A. SampsonJuly 25, 2005August 30, 200713John J. SullivanSeptember 1, 2007March 14, 2008March 14, 2008January 20, 200914Dennis HightowerAugust 11, 2009August 27, 2010Barack Obama15Rebecca BlankNovember 28, 2010March 29, 2012March 29, 2012June 1, 2013–Patrick D. GallagherActingJune 1, 2013July 24, 201416Bruce H. AndrewsJuly 24, 2014January 20, 201717Karen Dunn KelleySeptember 22, 2017November 28, 2018Donald TrumpNovember 28, 2018January 20, 2021–Wynn CogginsActingMarch 3, 2021May 14, 2021Joe Biden18Don GravesMay 14, 2021January 20, 2025–Jeremy PelterActingFebruary 21, 2025June 26, 2025Donald Trump19Paul DabbarJune 26, 2025Incumbent
References
External links The official biography of Sampson, the former Deputy Secretary The mission and organization of the Department of Commerce, in which the Deputy Secretary's functions and duties are listed Executive order on the line of succession for the Secretary of Commerce