Trump Administration Appointee Tracker
Trump Administration Appointee Tracker
Stay up-to-date on the latest developments and gain valuable insights into the potential implications of President-elect Donald Trump’s appointees. This tracker offers a thorough overview of key appointments to prominent positions within the administration, detailing their current status and the roles to which they’ve been appointed. Each profile includes brief background information on the appointee and analysis of how their appointment could influence critical issues affecting CHROs and HR leaders.
| Position | Appointee | Background | Potential Company Impact | Appointment Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy & Homeland Security Advisor | Stephen Miller | Miller is a longtime Presidential advisor who currently runs America First Legal, which has filed lawsuits challenging corporate and higher education DEI-related policies. Credited as the architect of the President-elect's first administration immigration policies. He is known for his unabashedly hawkish stances on immigration and social issues, pushing for items like Executive Order 13769 which suspended asylum and instituted Travel Bans. Miller reportedly played a central role in the resignation in April 2019 of Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, whom was insufficiently hawkish on immigration. After leaving the first Trump administration, he founded the America First Legal Foundation. | Miller is expected to help craft immigration policies. He was essential in negotiating the first Trump administration’s “safe third country” agreements, and the “Remain in Mexico” policy. We can expect to see an elevated number of executive orders revoking Biden era policies and reinstituting his own in the first 100 days of Trump’s second administration, if not day 1 on January 20th, 2025. | Neither position requires Senate confirmation. |
| Border Czar | Tom Homan | Tom Homan is a former police officer , immigration official, and political commentator who served during the Obama administration and the first Trump administration. He was the Acting Head of ICE during the first Trump administration. ICE has not had a Senate confirmed leader in decades. Homan is a vocal border hawk and has promised to ramp up deportations and made clear that he will use workplace raids to elevate the issue. He joined the Heritage Foundation in 2022. | Homan will head up the administration’s push for border overhaul which includes workplace raids to identify people working illegally in the U.S. Homan advocates deportation of illegal immigrants and opposes sanctuary city policies. The current advice moving forward has been to get businesses’ I-9 houses in order. | Does not require Senate confirmation. |
| Department of Homeland Security Secretary | Gov. Kristi Noem, (R-SD) | Noem has been serving as the Governor of South Dakota since 2019. A farmer and rancher, Noem rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic over her refusal to issue a statewide mandate to wear face masks. She has been a vocal supporter of the first Trump administration's policies and can be an active departmental vessel for policy expansion. Noem opposes the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and has voted to repeal it. Noem wanted to add such provisions to federal law as limits on medical malpractice lawsuits and allowing patients to buy health insurance plans from other states. | The governor has referenced possible reinstitution of Title 42 expulsions. She may very well divvy up departmental border and immigration mandates with Stephen Miller and Tom Homan. | Nominated – The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is set to hold a confirmation hearing for her on January 15, 2025. 9 a.m., 342 Dirksen Office Building. |
| Labor Secretary | Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR-5) | Lori Chavez-DeRemer (LCD) served locally in CA as a council member and then Mayor and has a Bachelors in Business Administration. In the House, Chavez-DeRemer served on the Education and the Workforce Committee. Serving one term she lost her reelection in the U.S. House of Representatives. In conflict with the first Trump administration’s efforts, she supports several union friendly pieces of legislation including the PRO Act. The business community is upset over LCD's nomination, but are withholding comments. Unions are skeptical that any nominee will deviate from Trump’s prior tacking away from pro-union policies, but it was at union President Sean O’Brien’s urging that she was selected. | Issues key certifications for certain employment-based visa programs and department of Labor issues more generally. Second-tier deputy and assistant secretary appointments in the department may stick to less populist, and historically more amenable polices for businesses and workers. It is unknown how willing she may be to abandon her stances that remain incongruent with the incoming administration’s historical positioning. | Nominated |
| Deputy Secretary of Labor | Keith Sonderling | Keith previously served as the Vice-Chairman of the EEOC and acting Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the DOL in Trumps first term. Keith Graduated Magna Cum Laude and has a degree in law. Sonderling began his legal career at the Gunster Law Firm in West Palm Beach, Florida. At Gunster, he practiced Labor and Employment law throughout his tenure at the firm. Sonderling was elevated to Shareholder in 2015. In 2012, Florida Governor Rick Scott appointed Sonderling to serve as a Commissioner on the 4th District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission. His fellow Commissioners elected him Chair. Sonderling resigned from the commission in August 2024 following the expiration of his term and has recently been helping with the transition over at the EEOC along with Janet Dhillon. | Sonderling’s highest priority has been ensuring that AI-informed employment technologies are designed and deployed in ways that comply with longstanding laws. He published numerous articles and speaks globally on the benefits and potential harms of using artificial intelligence-based technology in the workplace. Sonderling has also focused his time on human capital management compliance, conducting proactive outreach to human resource leaders worldwide. Sonderling also analyzed the gig economy and issued proposed rules for marquee labor issues, such as updating the overtime threshold and joint employer standards under the FLSA so we may see action in these veins. | Nominated |
| Secretary of State | Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL | A Florida Senator since 2011, and presidential nominee that has historically been pro-immigration reform but has had prior “pathway to citizenship” reform efforts stifled in the Senate and by the Republican party more broadly. Rubio has supported lifting embargoes with Cuba due to being Cuban American from Miami and his close ties with the massive Florida Hispanic community He held several local and state elected positions, holds a law degree and taught briefly. During the first Trump administration he was referred to as the "virtual secretary of state for Latin America." Over time, Rubio distanced himself from his previous efforts to reach a compromise on immigration, and developed more hardline views on immigration, rejecting bipartisan immigration reform efforts in 2018. In 2022, he introduced the Chinese Communist Party Visa Ban Act, which would effectively prohibit any member of the CCP from visiting the United States. In March 2023, he voiced support for revoking China's permanent normal trade relations status. | Due to familial issues with immigration status and deportation in his youth, Rubio may have a more lenient application of policy surrounding Visas, Trade policies, creating opportunities for influencing the President’s intentions of across-the-board tariffs and abandonment of prior trade agreements. His stances have shifted to become a more hard-lined, pro-legal immigration stance. Rubio is an interventionalist and supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying that the U.S. risks being excluded from global trade unless it is more open to trade. Rubio is a vocal opponent of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. | Nominated – The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to hold a confirmation hearing on Jan 15th 2025. 10 a.m., 419 Dirksen Office Building. |
| Health & Human Services Secretary | Former Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) | Nephew of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy, RFK studied law and was an Assistant district attorney in NY. Early on he joined two non-profits waging battles against corporate polluters. He founded the nonprofit environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance in 1999. In 2016, Kennedy became counsel to the Morgan & Morgan law firm, The partnership arose from the two firms' successful collaboration on the case against SoCalGas Company following the Aliso Canyon gas leak in California and has since brought suit against giants like Monsanto for roundup incidents. Kennedy was a venture partner and senior advisor at VantagePoint Capital Partners, is also a senior advisor to Starwood Energy Group, is on the board of Vionx, is a partner in ColorZen, and was a co-owner and director of the smart-grid company Utility Integration Solutions (UISol) among other endeavors. Kennedy dropped his own independent bid in 2024 for president this past August and endorsed Trump, who said in his victory speech after winning reelection that Kennedy is “going to help make America healthy again.” Kennedy is active in the anti-vaccine movement but is also open to increasing health standards. | The position has wide ranging jurisdiction ranging from Refugee settlement, unaccompanied migrant children, and emergency operations to sub-agencies focused on everything from scientific research to food safety, drug price negotiations and Medicare. RFK’s general skepticism of the medical community has many up in arms, since He is the chairman and founder of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine advocacy group. We may see scrutiny of areas traditionally ceded to public and private health subject matter experts in the realm of health care. | Nominated |
| Secretary of Commerce | Howard Lutnick | Lutnick is a businessman, chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, and is running staffing for Trump Transition. He was a final candidate for Sectary of the Treasury but was ultimately not selected for that role but instead, Secretary of Commerce. He was a fundraiser for Donald Trump's 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns, as well as a vocal proponent of Trump's proposal to implement broad tariffs. He lost 658 employees and his brother on September 11th, with ongoing charity efforts through the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund. He has a degree in economics and places a high value on technology. In 2024, Lutnick, through his firm BGC Group, began efforts to launch a futures exchange, the FMX Futures Exchange. he advocated for the strength of economy of the United States in 1900, crediting the lack of income tax and high tariff policies active at the time, saying "We had no income tax, and all we had was tariffs." | Commerce committee will increasingly have more mission creep, especially around AI as well as the energy, trade and research investment required to sustain it. Lutnick is a proponent of broad tariffs. Lutnick has accused China of being the source of the fentanyl crisis in the United States and is a vocal supporter of cryptocurrencies. | Nominated |
| Department of Justice Attorney General | Pam Bondi | Bondi is an attorney, lobbyist, politician and partner at Ballard Partners, the lobbying firm that had been run by Trump’s incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles and whose founder, Brian Ballard, is a top Trump fundraiser. She is co-chair of the law and justice division at the pro-Trump America First Policy Institute. She served as Florida’s first female Attorney General. Bondi was the lead attorney general in an unsuccessful lawsuit seeking to overturn the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in Florida et al v. United States Department of Health and Human Services. Bondi joined with 19 other Republican-led states in a lawsuit to overturn the ACA's bans on health insurance companies charging people with pre-existing conditions higher premiums or denying them coverage outright. She has ties to scientology and is or has been a registered agent for multiple foreign entities, which may cause some issues with the FBI background checks and possibly her nomination. | The position has jurisdiction over immigration courts and is the enforcement and litigating arm of the independent regulating entities. She will be tasked with helping implement and then defending in court many of his policy agendas. Her rise to fame within the president’s orbit has hinged on her fundraising and ability to defend President- Trump during his first impeachment trial or push Trump's policies since in Florida. Her positions are in lock step with Trump, so she will be a sympathetic ally on a litany of issues across the DOJ firewall. | Nominated (Second Nominee) - Senate Judiciary Committee have scheduled Bondi for 9:30 a.m. the 15th and 10:15 on the 16th of January, (though Bondi’s background and ethics paperwork are delayed). 216 Hart Office Building. |
| NLRB General Counsel | Jennifer Abruzzo | Abruzzo has relocated her Deputy GC Peter Sung Ohr who now heads the division of enforcement litigation. Abruzzo elevated associate general counsel Jessica Rutter to serve as her new deputy. The Deputy will serve upon her ouster until a Trump appointee can take over if Trump fires the GC upon taking office as Biden did. | A new NLRB GC will likely rescind various memos issued by GC Abruzzo. Although we expect any newly-appointed GC to rescind scores of currently-active memorandums issued by GC Abruzzo. | Likely Replaced (Biden Admin) |
| NLRB Chair | Lauren McFerran | Board Chair Lauren McFerran’s term expired on Dec. 16, 2024 and failed a vote 49-50 to be confirmed to a third term, Joseph L. Ditelberg’s vote was also pulled. The incoming Trump administration will need to nominate two spots for the Board. | These seats are waiting to be filled by Trump appointees and the Board will return to a Republican majority, likely at some point in 2025, paving the way for more pro-employer decisions. | Nominated (Biden Admin) Vote Failed, Trump Admin – 2 Nominations |
| FTC Chair | Andrew Ferguson | Serves currently as a sitting commissioner of the FTC, and as Virginia’s Solicitor General prior. He is a lawyer who has practiced antitrust litigation from before the FTC to the Supreme court. Ferguson previously did stints as chief counsel for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). He was the former solicitor general for Virginia and was also a senior special counsel for incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). In June 2024, Ferguson, dissented when the Commission issued a final rule banning non-compete clauses in most employment contracts. In October 2024, Ferguson argued in a partial dissent from a disqualification motion that the removal protections provided to the commission's administrative law judges are unconstitutional. | The position provides Independent Regulatory oversight. Ferguson won’t need Senate confirmation since he is already on the commission. He has stated intentions to ease his predecessor's scrutiny of business mergers and acquisitions, while continuing critical oversight of big tech platforms. Ferguson, a Republican, in the position of running the agency from a 2-3 minority until Kressin Meador Powers LLC partner Mark Meador wins Senate confirmation. | Already serving, confirmation not required. |
| EEOC Chair | TBD, Andrea Lucas possible interim Chair | TBD | Independent Regulatory oversight | — |
| SEC Chair | Paul Atkins | CEO of Patomak Global Partners LLC, is a lawyer and former top SEC official, and will be an experienced Washington insider regulating Wall Street. Replaces SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Atkins has criticized socially conscious corporate shareholder activism - an issue the SEC has embraced in recent years with climate risk disclosures and other rules on environmental, social and governance investing. He has also criticized overzealous SEC corporate enforcement actions, arguing they only hurt shareholders twice over. | Independent Regulatory oversight - Atkins is expected to review many of Gensler's rules and enforcement actions pending in the courts. | Nominated |
| Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing | Peter Navarro | A Harvard-educated economist, came into Trump's orbit due to his various writings on China, in which he blasted Beijing for gaming the international trading system through currency manipulation, illegal export subsidies and several other policy tools. Navarro joined the 2016 Trump campaign and has remained a close ally ever since. One of the most influential voices of Trump’s tariff-heavy first term. He was released from prison following a contempt of Congress charge. | During the first Trump term, Navarro was picked to head the newly created Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, where he helped shape the White House's trade strategy, specifically its campaign to set waves of new tariffs on more than $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. Trump also alluded to the role Navarro played in revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement into the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and a retooling of the U.S. trade deal with South Korea. "During my First Term, few were more effective or tenacious than Peter in enforcing my two sacred rules, Buy American, Hire American," stated Trump. | Does not require Senate confirmation. |
| United States Trade Representative | Jamieson Greer | Former Air Force lawyer turned trade litigator, has a mentor in Robert Lighthizer, who was Trump’s trade representative in his first administration and is expected to influence trade policy in Trump’s second term. | Greer will be on the front line of Trump’s threat to impose a baseline tariff of up to 20 percent on all $3 trillion worth of U.S. exports and a separate 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods. | Nominated |
| Assistant Attorney General - DOJ Antitrust Division | Gail Slater | Oxford-educated economic policy adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance. Slater was a tech policy adviser on the National Economic Council during Trump’s first term, and has been advising his transition team on antitrust and tech policy. Earlier she spent 10 years at the US Federal Trade Commission, including as an adviser to former Democratic FTC Commissioner Julie Brill in Barack Obama’s administration. Slater is seen as a pro-enforcement, populist Republican, particularly when it comes to the tech sector, and her nomination signals a new Trump administration is unlikely to fully back down from the aggressive stance of Joe Biden’s administration. Her boss, Vance, who has represented Ohio in the Senate since 2023, has expressed his support for much of the agenda of outgoing FTC Chair Lina Khan. | In their own words, “Big Tech has run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector and, as we all know, using its market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans, as well as those of Little Tech!” Trump said. “I was proud to fight these abuses in my First Term, and our Department of Justice’s antitrust team will continue that work under Gail’s leadership.” Trump's leadership pick announcements for the FTC and DOJ per antitrust appear to produce a mandate to continue aggressively going after the technology platforms first targeted in his prior administration. | Nominated – Senate Judiciary Committee nominees are likely 16th of January, 2025. |
| Customs and Border Protection | Rodney S. Scott | A former career border official whom Mr. Trump installed as chief of the Border Patrol in 2020. Mr. Scott carried out many of Trump’s signature policies in his first term, and credited him with achieving drops in immigration. | Oversees the country’s borders, including the Border Patrol. Runs enforcement operations within America’s Legal Ports of entry. Works hand in hand with ICE. | Nominated |
| Immigration and Customs Enforcement | Caleb Vitello | Vitello is a longtime Immigration and Customs Enforcement official, will be in a key position charged with overseeing Mr. Trump’s planned mass deportation efforts. | ICE arrests, detains and deports unauthorized immigrants and can directly affect access to labor across several industries. | Acting (ICE has not had a Senate confirmed leader in years) |
| A.I. and Crypto Czar | David Sacks | Sacks is a venture capitalist and an early executive at PayPal who launched a hit podcast. He is one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent conservative investors, donors and media personalities. | AI Regulation is increasingly important across multiple business sectors including HR, in both the search for talent and evolution of career paths utilizing AI. | Does not require Senate confirmation. |
| Medicare Medicaid Administrator | Dr. Mehmet Oz | Dr. Oz is a heart surgeon and the son of Turkish immigrants. Mr. Trump said Dr. Oz would “work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take on the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake.” Mr. Trump noted that Dr. Oz had “won nine Daytime Emmy Awards hosting ‘The Dr. Oz Show,’ where he taught millions of Americans how to make healthier lifestyle choices. Dr. Oz has also frequently clashed with other medical experts. In 2020, he argued for a universal health coverage system, in which every American not covered by Medicaid would be enrolled in a private Medicare Advantage plan. The coverage expansion would be financed by an “affordable 20 percent payroll tax,” and would eliminate employer health coverage and the government Medicare program. | Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services oversee several of the country’s largest government programs, providing health coverage to more than 150 million Americans. They regulate health insurance and set policy that guides the prices that doctors, hospitals and drug companies are paid for many medical services. About a quarter of all federal spending runs through the centers. The agency also oversees insurance marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act. | Nominated |