President-elect Donald Trump announced a slate of new appointees to his administration on Saturday, less than one month before he is to be sworn into office on January 20 next year.
The three posts announced on Saturday, including Chief of Staff at the Department of Justice, Head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy, and Federal Railroads Administrator, are not positions that require Senate confirmation.
Trump’s cabinet picks have generated significant controversy and attention ahead of his inauguration, including the failed nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to Attorney General.
Here is everything to know about the three new picks.
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Chad Mizelle: DOJ Chief of Staff
Mizelle was the former General Counsel and Chief of Staff at the Department of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration. Prior to that, Mizelle was a leading lawyer at the international law firm Jones Day, focusing on governmental regulation and national security.
In the announcement of Mizelle’s new position, Trump said on social media that Mizelle in his first administration “helped to secure our Border, and stop the flow of illegal drugs and aliens into our Country.”
“Chad is a MAGA warrior, who will help bring accountability, integrity, and Justice back to the DOJ,” said Trump in a Truth Social post.
Mizelle is an ally of Trump’s immigration advisor Stephen Miller, who has been a staunch advocate of intensifying immigration enforcement.
The DOJ will be pivotal to Trump’s campaign promise of mass deportation of illegal immigrants. Changes at the DOJ will also be necessary to unclog the backup of immigration courts and sort through immigration-related crime cases.
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It was reported this month that Mizelle was helping Trump’s AG nominee Pam Bondi as she prepares for her Senate confirmation hearing, slated to happen soon after the inauguration, possibly by late January or early February.
Aaron Reitz: DOJ Office of Legal Policy
Reitz is currently the chief of staff to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and previously served as Texas Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy under Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The DOJ Office of Legal Policy, or OLP, is responsible for developing the Department’s policy initiatives, coordinating between the DOJ and other executive branch agencies.
OLP also assists the Attorney General with recommending candidates for federal judgeships and coordinating the judicial nomination process between the White House and the Senate.
Reitz has a relatively low public profile but has been known to support the strategy of so-called lawfare, a term used to describe the use of the justice system to achieve political goals.
On a podcast in 2021, Reitz said that in Paxton’s Department of Justice, “our soldiers are lawyers and our weapons are lawsuits and our tactic is lawfare.”
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He added that the time is over for “the sort of hyper-caution” characteristic of the pre-Trump Republican party.
“Aaron will lead OLP to develop and implement DOJ’s battle plans to advance my Law and Order Agenda, and restore integrity to our Justice System,” said Trump in his announcement of the nomination.
David Fink: Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration
Trump’s announcement of David Fink says that he is “a fifth generation Railroader” with more than 45 years of experience in “transportation leadership and success, which will deliver the FRA into a new era of safety and technological innovation.”
“Under David’s guidance, the Federal Railroad Administration will be GREAT again,” said Trump on Truth Social.
The Federal Railroad Administration, an agency under the Department of Transportation, promotes safety, reliability and efficiency of rail transportation.
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The role may be of heightened importance in the new Trump administration following several high-profile train accidents in recent years, including the toxic chemical train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023, which became a central portion of the early Trump campaign.
In 2023, there were 995 rail fatalities in the U.S. and approximately 6,700 non-fatal railroad injuries.
