List of Department of Commerce appointments by Donald Trump

Color key

  Denotes appointees serving in offices that did not require Senate confirmation.

  Denotes appointees confirmed by the Senate.

  Denotes appointees awaiting Senate confirmation.

  Denotes appointees serving in an acting capacity.

  Denotes appointees who have left office or offices which have been disbanded.

  Denotes nominees who were withdrawn prior to being confirmed or assuming office.

Appointments (first administration)

Office	Nominee	Assumed office	Left office
Secretary of Commerce	Wilbur Ross[1]	February 28, 2017 (Confirmed February 27, 2017, 72–27)[2]	January 20, 2021
Deputy Secretary of Commerce	Karen Dunn Kelley[3]	November 29, 2017	November 29, 2018
		November 29, 2018 (Confirmed November 28, 2018, 62–38)[4]	January 20, 2021
General Counsel of Commerce	Vacant
Under Secretary of Commerce (Economic Affairs)	Vacant
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Administration)	Tom Gilman[5]	January 2019 (Confirmed January 2, 2019, voice vote)	January 20, 2021
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Economic Development)	John Fleming[6]	March 15, 2019 (Confirmed March 7, 2019, 67–30)[7]	January 20, 2021
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Global Markets)	Ian Steff[8]	TBD (Confirmed November 21, 2019, voice vote)
Director General of the United States Commercial Service
Under Secretary of Commerce (Industry and Security)	Vacant
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Industry and Analysis)	Nazakhtar Nikakhtar	April 3, 2018 (Confirmed March 19, 2018, voice vote)	January 20, 2021
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Enforcement and Compliance)	Jeffrey I. Kessler[9]	April 11, 2019 (Confirmed April 3, 2019, voice vote)	January 20, 2021
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Export Administration)	Richard Ashooh[10]	September 11, 2017 (Confirmed August 3, 2017, voice vote)	July 16, 2020
Under Secretary of Commerce (Oceans and Atmosphere)	Vacant
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Environmental Observation and Prediction)	Neil Jacobs	March 2, 2018 (Confirmed February 15, 2018, voice vote)	January 20, 2021
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Oceans and Atmosphere)	Timothy Gallaudet[11]	October 25, 2017 (Confirmed October 5, 2017, voice vote)	January 20, 2021
Under Secretary of Commerce (Intellectual Property)	Andrei Iancu[12]	February 8, 2018 (Confirmed February 5, 2018, 94–0)[13]	January 20, 2021
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Under Secretary of Commerce (Standards and Technology)	Walter Copan	October 16, 2017 (Confirmed October 5, 2017, voice vote)	January 20, 2021
Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
United States Census Bureau
Director of the Census	Steven Dillingham[14]	January 7, 2019 (Confirmed January 2, 2019, voice vote)	January 20, 2021

Previous officeholders (first administration)

Office	Name	Took office	Left office	Notes
Director of Policy and Strategic Planning	Earl Comstock	January 30, 2017	March 2, 2020	[15]
Under Secretary of Commerce (Economic Affairs)	Karen Dunn Kelley	September 22, 2017	November 28, 2018
Under Secretary of Commerce (Export Administration)	Mira Ricardel	September 11, 2017	May 14, 2018	Left to become the deputy national security advisor under John R. Bolton.
Under Secretary of Commerce (International Trade)	Kenneth E. Hyatt	June 2016	March 20, 2018
	Gilbert Kaplan	March 20, 2018	September 19, 2019
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Communications and Information)	David Redl	November 21, 2017	May 9, 2019	[16]
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs)	Michael Platt Jr.	October 18, 2017	May 9, 2019
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Global Markets)	Elizabeth Erin Walsh	August 17, 2017	May 3, 2018	Walsh was terminated on May 3, 2018 and escorted out of the Department of Commerce headquarters for unknown reasons. An internal investigation was initiated.[17]
Director General of the United States Commercial Service
Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Export Administration)	Richard Ashooh	September 11, 2017	July 16, 2020	[18]
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Security	John Costello		January 6, 2021	Resigned following the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol.[19][20]
Director of the Minority Business Development Agency	Chris Garcia	May 22, 2017	February 27, 2018	The Washington Post reported that Garcia was one of four Department of Commerce appointees who departed over issues with their security clearance. However, Garcia stated in a brief interview that he had planned to leave the agency for several weeks.[21]
Deputy Director of the Minority Business Development Agency		May 22, 2017	February 27, 2018
Director of the United States Census Bureau	John H. Thompson	August 8, 2013	June 30, 2017
	Ron S. Jarmin	June 30, 2017	January 7, 2019

Appointments (second administration)

Office	Nominee	Assumed office	Left office
Secretary of Commerce	Howard Lutnick[22]	February 21, 2025
	Jeremy Pelter[23]	January 20, 2025	February 21, 2025
General Counsel of Commerce	Pierre Gentin	Awaiting Senate Confirmation
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere	Neil Jacobs	Awaiting Senate Confirmation
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information	Arielle Roth	Awaiting Senate Confirmation
Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security	Jeffrey I. Kessler	TBD
Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs	Joyce Meyer[24]	Awaiting Senate Confirmation

References

1. Rappeport, Alan (February 27, 2017). "Wilbur Ross, a Billionaire Investor, Is Confirmed as Commerce Secretary". The New York Times.
2. "On the Nomination (Confirmation Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., of Florida, to be Secretary of Commerce)". United States Senate. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
3. "Under Secretary Kelley to Perform Nonexclusive Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Commerce" (Press release). November 29, 2017. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
4. "On the Nomination (Confirmation Karen Dunn Kelley, of Pennsylvania, to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce)". United States Senate. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
5. "Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved July 27, 2018 – via National Archives.
6. "Trump White House picks John Fleming, former Louisiana congressman, for Commerce post". June 21, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
7. "On the Nomination (Confirmation John Fleming, of Louisiana, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development)". United States Senate. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
8. "PN389 – Nomination of Ian Paul Steff for Department of Commerce, 116th Congress (2019–2020)". www.congress.gov. February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
9. "PN1202 – Nomination of Jeffrey Kessler for Department of Commerce, 115th Congress (2017–2018)". www.congress.gov. November 2, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
10. NH1 News. "President Trump to nominate NH businessman Rich Ashooh for Commerce position". Retrieved April 3, 2018.
11. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. September 2, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017 – via National Archives.
12. "PN927 – Nomination of Andrei Iancu for Department of Commerce, 115th Congress (2017–2018)". www.congress.gov. December 14, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
13. "On the Nomination (Confirmation Andrei Iancu, of California, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)". United States Senate. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
14. "PN2331 – Nomination of Steven Dillingham for Department of Commerce, 115th Congress (2017–2018)". www.congress.gov. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
15. "Commerce Department official at center of 5G battles resigns". Retrieved March 5, 2020.
16. "Commerce official resigns amid 5G tensions". Retrieved March 5, 2020.
17. "A High-Ranking Commerce Department Official Was Removed By Security Last Week. The Department Won't Say Why". BuzzFeed. May 7, 2018. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
18. "U.S. Commerce Official Resigns, Viewed as Moderating Voice on China Export Issues". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
19. "Trump Administration Officials Who Resigned Over Capitol Violence". The New York Times. January 7, 2021. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
20. Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins and Jeremy Diamond (January 7, 2021). "Some Trump administration officials resign while others stay to prevent chaos". CNN. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
21. Leonnig, Carol D. (February 28, 2018). "Four Commerce Department appointees lose their posts after problems in background checks". The Washington Post. Washington, DC. Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
22. "Trump picks Lutnick to be Commerce secretary". Archived from the original on November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
23. Cite error: The named reference acting2025 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
24. "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House. April 1, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025. Joyce Meyer, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs.