Get to know a few of the 400 government officials hired by Trump
While the spotlight was on Betsy DeVos, Jeff Sessions, Ben Carson, and Rex Tillerson, hundreds of other government jobs that do not require Senate confirmation were quietly filled by the Trump administration.
The White House has declined to name any of these hires, but ProPublica was able to compile a list of more than 400 officials tapped for positions across the government. They are in "beachhead teams," meaning they're temporary employees who will work for four to eight months, with many expected to be moved into permanent jobs. ProPublica found that among the hires are at least 36 lobbyists, several Breitbart contributors, noted conspiracy theory peddlers, former congressional staffers, some top officials from the George W. Bush administration, and a few holdovers from the Obama administration.
Perhaps the youngest official is Danny Tiso in the Department of Labor, a 2015 high school graduate who worked for the Trump campaign in New Hampshire. Curtis Ellis, a special assistant to the secretary at the Labor Department, was a columnist at WorldNetDaily, who once wrote a column with the headline "The Radical Left's Ethnic Cleansing of America" that was received favorably by Stephen Bannon. At the Treasury Department, Jon Perdue was hired as a special assistant; viewers of the reality show Make Me a Millionaire Inventor may recognize Perdue, a self-described guerrilla warfare expert and a onetime contributor to Breitbart — he came up with a bow and arrow that can be used as a compass, tent pole, walking stick, and water purification tablet receptacle. Read more about the new hires at ProPublica.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Foreigners in Spain facing a 100% tax on homes as the country battles a housing crisis
Under the Radar The goal is to provide 'more housing, better regulation and greater aid,' said Spain's prime minister
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Sudoku hard: January 22, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Codeword: January 22, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Trump starts term with spate of executive orders
Speed Read The president is rolling back many of Joe Biden's climate and immigration policies
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pardons or commutes all charged Jan. 6 rioters
Speed Read The new president pardoned roughly 1,500 criminal defendants charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
DeSantis appoints Florida's top lawyer to US Senate
Speed Read The state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, will replace Sen. Marco Rubio in the Senate
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Pam Bondi downplays politics at confirmation hearing
Speed Read Trump's pick for attorney general claimed her Justice Department would not prosecute anyone for political reasons
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden warns of oligarchy in farewell address
Speed Read The president issued a stark warning about the dangers of unchecked power in the hands of the ultra-wealthy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hegseth boosts hopes for confirmation amid grilling
Speed Read The Senate held confirmation hearings for Pete Hegseth, Trump's Defense Secretary nominee
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden removes Cuba from terrorism blacklist
Speed read The move is likely to be reversed by the incoming Trump administration, as it was Trump who first put Cuba on the terrorism blacklist in his first term
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published