Political appointments by Donald Trump

Certain news organizations, such as Politico and Newsweek, called Trump's incomplete cabinet a "conservative dream team"[6] or "the most conservative cabinet [in United States history]."[7] 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.[8] The Wall Street Journal also stated that Trump's nominations signaled a pro-deregulation administration policy.[9]

Among Donald Trump's appointments there have been several former Goldman Sachs employees, such as Steven Mnuchin, Steven Bannon, and Gary Cohn, as well as several generals, such as Michael T. Flynn, James Mattis, and John F. Kelly. These appointments have generated some criticism, including allegations of violations of the principle of civilian control of the military and allegations of regulatory capture.[10][11] The Democratic senator from Missouri, Claire McCaskill, has criticized Donald Trump's cabinet stating; "I call it the three 'G' Cabinet: Goldman, generals and gazillionaires."[12]

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.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15] According to CNN on February 25, there were nearly 2,000 vacant government positions.[16]

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     Denotes nominees who were withdrawn prior to being confirmed or assuming office.

While President Trump tweeted on February 7, 2017, dissatisfaction – "It is a disgrace my Cabinet is not yet in place, the longest such delay in the history of our country"—the assertion was ruled false by the BBC based on a detailed review of the last five administrations. The analysis found more room for a general complaint of slowness in congressional action and that the administration "has by far the fewest confirmed cabinet selections at this point" but it also noted that, beyond the non-action on Judge Merrick Garland's 10-month nomination to the Supreme Court by Trump's predecessor, President Obama's "choice for Labor secretary, Thomas Perez, took 121 days to be confirmed. John Bryson, his commerce pick, waited 126 days. Attorney General Loretta Lynch holds the modern record, as 161 days passed before getting Senate approval."[227]

In an update on the March 2017 nomination of J. Christopher Giancarlo to the CFTC, the White House submitted his paperwork to the Senate committee in early May. "The paperwork is a prerequisite for the panel to advance the nomination with a hearing and an eventual committee vote, which now may not come until the summer or fall. The committee is said to be waiting for the administration to nominate individuals to fill two more vacancies at the commission before it holds the hearing, according to Senate aides and people familiar with the process," reported the Wall Street Journal.[115]

In July 2017, the New York Times assessed the pace and reported that Trump had announced 36 percent of "leadership positions below the secretary level" compared with 78 percent by Obama over the same period. Average approval time has been nine days slower for Trump appointees versus Obama's. Ten of 15 Cabinet agencies had no number two, several deputy secretaries were not nominated until after the Administration's 100-day mark, and some had not yet been nominated.[228]

By October 2017, Trump had made 412 nominations. By the same point in their respective presidencies, George W. Bush had made 640 nominations and Barack Obama had made 536 nominations.[229]

In May 2018, assessing the administration's overall personnel approach, Evan Osnos reported in The New Yorker that "more than half of the six hundred and fifty-six most critical positions are still unfilled." He quoted Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service as saying "We've never seen vacancies at this scale[.] Not anything close." [230]

• Republican National Committee chairmanship election, 2017 for the national leadership of Trump's political party
• Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates for the judicial nominees to fill the vacancies formerly held by Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy
• Cabinet of Donald Trump, for the vetting process undergone by top-level roles including advice and consent by the Senate
• Sr. Advisor to the President, the role formerly held by Karl Rove under George W. Bush, then by Valerie Jarrett/David Axelrod/etc under Barack Obama
• List of executive branch 'czars' e.g. Special Advisor to the President
• List of economic advisors to Donald Trump, concentrating on the informal advisors that are not officially part of the Trump administration
• List of federal judges appointed by Donald Trump
• List of short-tenure Donald Trump political appointments