President-elect Donald Trump made a series of nominations on Sunday night, introducing various experts to serve in his incoming administration. Trump first named Stephen Alexander Vaden as his nominee for deputy secretary of the Department of Agriculture. Vaden had served as the General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture and had won cases before the United States Supreme Court. Trump also nominated a slate of individuals to work with his pick for secretary of defense, including Stephen Feinberg as deputy secretary of defense, Elbridge “Bridge” Colby as under secretary of defense for policy, and Michael Duffey and Emil Michael for key defense roles.
Feinberg, a successful businessman and chairman of Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board, was chosen to help “Make the Pentagon Great Again.” Colby, a Harvard and Yale Law School graduate, was hailed as a highly respected advocate for America First foreign and defense policy. Duffey was chosen to revitalize the Defense Industrial Base, while Michael was tasked with ensuring technological superiority for the military at a lower cost to taxpayers. Keith Bass and Joe Kasper were also nominated for roles related to defense health affairs.
Scott Kupor was named as Trump’s pick for the director of the Office of Personnel Management, with the goal of bringing reform to the federal workforce. Kupor, a managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, was praised for his credentials from Stanford University. Trump also announced nominations for tech-related roles, appointing Michael J.K. Kratsios as the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Kratsios, a former under secretary of defense, was appointed along with Dr. Lynne Parker and others to important positions in the administration.
Dr. Parker was chosen as the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, while Bo Hines was selected as the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets. Sriram Krishnan was appointed as senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence. Trump emphasized the importance of these roles in fostering innovation and growth in technology sectors, as well as ensuring American leadership in areas like artificial intelligence. Overall, Trump’s nominations were aimed at assembling a team that would work towards his vision of making America great again through strong defense, technological advancement, and reform in federal agencies.
