This is a list of political appointments of current officeholders made by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Links to lists of announced positions from which candidates have withdrawn or appointees who have resigned or have been terminated, as well as lists of appointments to other independent agencies and of holdovers from previous administrations are below.
Following President Trump's election, there were around 4,000 political appointment positions which the incoming Trump administration needed to review, and fill or confirm, of which 1,212 required Senate confirmation. The Washington Post has identified 757 key positions requiring U.S. Senate confirmation. , 531 of Trump's nominees for key positions had been confirmed, 97 were awaiting confirmation, and 13 had been announced but not yet formally nominated, a total of 639 positions. Trump has said he intends not to fill many of the positions. The rules of the Senate require that when the term of the Senate expires (in the case of the 115th Congress, at noon on January 3, 2019), nominations then pending lapse and are returned to the president, who can resubmit them to the new Congress.
All members of the Cabinet require confirmation by the United States Senate following nomination by the president prior to taking office. The vice presidency is exceptional in that the position requires election to office pursuant to the United States Constitution. Although some positions are of Cabinet-level rank, non-cabinet members within the Executive Office of the President, such as White House chief of staff, national security advisor, and White House press secretary, do not hold constitutionally created positions and most do not require Senate confirmation for appointment. Persons appointed on an acting basis do not require Senate confirmation before they begin to act in their position, even if a permanent appointment to that position would require confirmation. Appointments to judgeships on federal courts and of ambassadors require nomination by the president and confirmation by the Senate. Acting appointments to these positions are not permissible.
Analysis Certain news organizations, such as Politico and Newsweek, called Trump's incomplete cabinet a "conservative dream team" or "the most conservative cabinet [in United States history]". 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. The Wall Street Journal also stated that Trump's nominations signaled a pro-deregulation administration policy.
Among Donald Trump's appointments there were several former Goldman Sachs employees, such as Steven Mnuchin, Steven Bannon, and Gary Cohn, as well as several generals, including Michael T. Flynn, James Mattis, and John F. Kelly. These appointments generated criticism, including alleged violations of the principle of civilian control of the military and allegations of regulatory capture. Democratic senator from Missouri, Claire McCaskill, criticized Donald Trump's cabinet stating; "I call it the three 'G' Cabinet: Goldman, generals and gazillionaires."
On January 18, 2017, two days before Trump's inauguration, it was reported that Trump had by then nominated only 28 people to fill 690 positions requiring Senate confirmation. In particular, there had been no nominations below the Cabinet level for the departments of State or Defense, and the staff for the National Security Council was incomplete, while none of the NSC leadership had any NSC experience.
On February 28, 2017, Trump announced he did not intend on filling many of the numerous governmental positions that were still vacant, as he considered them unnecessary. According to CNN on February 25, there were nearly 2,000 vacant government positions.
Color key
Executive Office of the President
Department of Agriculture
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Agriculture Sonny PerdueBluestein, Greg, "Breaking: Donald Trump taps Sonny Perdue as his agriculture chief", Atlanta Journal-Constitution", January 18, 2017. April 25, 2017 January 20, 2021 Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Censky October 11, 2017 November 8, 2020
Department of Commerce
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross February 28, 2017 January 20, 2021 Deputy Secretary of Commerce Karen Dunn Kelley November 29, 2017 November 29, 2018 November 29, 2018 January 20, 2021
Department of Defense
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Defense Chris MillerNovember 9, 2020January 20, 2021 Deputy Secretary of Defense David NorquistJanuary 2, 2019July 23, 2019 July 31, 2019 February 8, 2021
Department of Education
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos February 7, 2017 January 8, 2021 Deputy Secretary of Education Mick Zais May 17, 2018
Department of Energy
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette December 4, 2019 Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes December 4, 2019 August 4, 2020 August 4, 2020 Under Secretary of Energy(Management and Performance) November 6, 2017 August 4, 2020
Department of Health and Human Services
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar January 29, 2018 Eric Hargan October 10, 2017 January 29, 2018 Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services October 6, 2017
Department of Homeland Security
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf November 13, 2019 January 11, 2021 Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson March 2, 2017 Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Brian D. Montgomery May 12, 2020 January 17, 2019
Department of the Interior
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt"President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration" , The White House, April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.January 2, 2019April 11, 2019 April 11, 2019 Deputy Secretary of the InteriorKatharine MacGregor September 30, 2019 February 25, 2020 February 25, 2020
Department of Justice
Office Nominee Assumed office left office Attorney General William Barr February 14, 2019 December 23, 2020 Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen May 22, 2019
Department of Labor
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia September 30, 2019 Patrick Pizzella July 20, 2019 September 30, 2019 Deputy Secretary of Labor April 17, 2018
Department of State
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of State Mike Pompeo April 26, 2018 Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun December 21, 2019 Deputy Secretary of State(Management and Resources)
Department of Transportation
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao January 31, 2017 January 11, 2021 Deputy Secretary of Transportation Steven G. Bradbury September 10, 2019 General Counsel of Transportation November 28, 2017
Department of the Treasury
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin February 13, 2017 Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Justin Muzinich December 12, 2018
Department of Veterans Affairs Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie March 28, 2018 May 29, 2018 July 30, 2018 Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Pamela J. Powers April 2, 2020 General Counsel of Veterans Affairs Vacant Chief Financial Officer of Veterans Affairs Jon J. Rychalski February 7, 2018 Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs(Benefits) Paul Lawrence May 15, 2018 Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health Vacant Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs(Memorial Affairs) Randy Reeves December 12, 2017 Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs(Legislative Affairs) Brooks Tucker August 10, 2017 Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs(Information and Technology) James Gfrerer January 7, 2019 Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs(Enterprise Integration) Melissa Sue Glynn January 2, 2018 Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs(Accountability and Whistleblower Protection) Tamara Bonzanto January 7, 2019 Chairman of the Board of the Board of Veterans' Appeals Cheryl L. Mason December 11, 2017 Creating Options for Veterans' Expedited Recovery Commission Chairman of the Creating Options for Veterans' Expedited Recovery CommissionJake Leinenkugel June 2018 Member of the Creating Options for Veterans' Expedited Recovery Commission Thomas E. Beeman
Independent intelligence agencies
Office of the Director of National Intelligence Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Office of the Director of National Intelligence Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe May 26, 2020 Chief Information Officer John Sherman September 5, 2017 National Counterintelligence Executive Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center William Evanina June 2, 2014 May 6, 2020 National Counterterrorism CenterDirector of the National Counterterrorism Center Christopher C. Miller August 10, 2020 November 9, 2020
Central Intelligence Agency
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Gina Haspel April 26, 2018 May 21, 2018 May 21, 2018 Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Vaughn Bishop August 1, 2018 General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency Courtney Simmons Elwood June 6, 2017
Other independent agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Andrew R. Wheeler July 9, 2018 February 28, 2019 February 28, 2019 Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Vacant Chief Financial Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency Holly Greaves March 15, 2018 General Counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency Matthew Leopold January 9, 2018 October 5, 2020 Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency Sean O'Donnell January 27, 2020 Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency(Toxic Substances) Alexandra Dunn January 3, 2019 Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency(Enforcement and Compliance Assurance) Susan Bodine January 5, 2018 Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency(International and Tribal Affairs) Chad McIntosh TBD Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency(Land and Emergency Management) Peter C. Wright TBD Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency(Office of Water) David Ross January 22, 2018
Small Business Administration
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Administrator of the Small Business Administration Jovita Carranza January 14, 2020 Chief Counsel of Advocacy for the Small Business Administration Vacant Inspector General of the Small Business Administration Hannibal Ware May 24, 2018
Federal Reserve System
Office Nominee Assumed office Left office Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell February 5, 2018 Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Richard Clarida September 17, 2018 Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal Reserve Randal Quarles October 13, 2017 Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Christopher WallerTrump Taps Two Fed Nominees, One Conventional, the Other Not Retrieved October 13, 2019. December 18, 2020 Michelle Bowman November 26, 2018 TBD (reappointment) Randal Quarles July 18, 2018 Richard Clarida September 17, 2018 Vacant
NASA