Sharing the dais with several other high-profile nominees, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration-designate Landon Heid appeared before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, April 10.   His brief remarks included the suggestion that Commerce apply export controls to sanctioned firm's subsidiaries, as is done with OFAC Sanctions.

The Treasury announced legislative and public affairs appointments Friday, drawing from political appointees from the previous Trump administration and Republican congressional staff.

Seeking to prevent a repeat of the operational gridlock that hampered the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) during President Trump’s first term, the White House has appointed two veteran career officials to the agency’s Board of Directors. The move guarantees a quorum, enabling EXIM to function fully without immediate pressure on the administration to nominate additional Democratic board members. The White House’s strategic appointments allow EXIM to function without disruption while reducing immediate pressure to nominate additional Democratic board members, a requirement for maintaining the bank’s bipartisan governance structure.

In contrast to the Treasury Department's flurry of staffing announcements, the Commerce Department quietly updated its website this week, detailing the staff incoming BIS Chief Jeffrey Kessler will rely on to ensure trade security. The appointment of James Rokas as Mr. Kessler's principal deputy has been thrown into doubt, as Chief of Staff Robert Burkett has replaced Mr. Rokas as acting undersecretary.

Jeffrey Kessler the Administration's nominee for Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security had a relatively easy go of it in front of the Senate Banking Committee Thursday, as members sunk their teeth into the higher-profile nominees who shared the dias. While Mr. Kessler brings a strong legal background in tariff and trade enforcement and compliance, the technical and national security elements of export administration will call for a high degree of collaboration with what one senator referred to as  "career bureaucrats [who] over the years at BIS have rubber stamped deals for decades and sent some of our most important technology to China"

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham today announced Brian Young will serve as the agency’s Director of Enforcement. Young has been serving in an acting capacity since January 22, and previously was the Director of the Whistleblower Office. Young joined the CFTC in 2024 as the Director of the Whistleblower Office following nearly 20 years at the Department of Justice.

President Biden announced last week he is nominating two new members to sit on the International Trade Commission. Jim Coughlan will come over from the Export Import Bank of the US, and Halie Craig is currently staff for the Senate Commerce Committee.

Former Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) has joined big-data firm Palantir Technologies to develop its defense business, the company announced Thursday.     Denver-based Palantir has been rapidly expanding its remit with the DoD, notching notable wins in the Electronic Warfare and Sensing domains. "I believe that militaries that don't harness the power of advanced algorithmic warfare systems are basically unilaterally disarming," Gallagher told Defense One.  "It's like an army with only conventional weapons going against an enemy armed with tactical nukes."

Chief of the OFAC Licensing Division, Aydin M. Akgün has joined Ferrari & Associates in Washington, DC  as Director of Licensing & Compliance. During more than two decades at OFAC, Mr. Akgün worked on sanctions programs involving Iran, Belarus, Global Magnitsky, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. 

Carrie Esko, director for ICT services and digital trade at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), has left to join the Semiconductor Industry Association as director of global policy for trade and supply chain matters. At the USTR, Esko led digital trade negotiations within bilateral and regional trade initiatives. She also served in other roles at USTR, including director for APEC affairs, and director for industrial goods, where she worked on trade policy and negotiations involving critical minerals, metals, and related sectors with partner governments across Asia and globally.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that Danielle Fumagalli will serve as Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for Japan, Korea, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Affairs. Ms. Fumagalli has most recently served as Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative (DAUSTR) in the same office.

Rhonda Schmidtlein is the new Chair of the International Trade Commission, replacing David Johanson, whose term as Chair expired on June 16. She previously served as Chair from January 13, 2017, through June 16, 2018.

Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Ramin Toloui will be leaving the Department and returning to his teaching position at Stanford University.

Former Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) has joined Akin as a senior policy consultant in Washington, D.C. During his tenure in Congress, Chairman Brady served as the author and driving force in the development of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), which is set to expire at the end of 2025, as well as a key leader in the negotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement..

President Biden has withdrawn the nomination of lobbyist Nelson Cunningham to be Deputy US Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Middle East, Labor and Environment, in response to key Democrats’ opposition to the choice. In lieu of the USTR post, Mr. Cunningham will be joining the State Department as a Senior Advisor to Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez.

China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday announced countermeasures against former U.S. lawmaker Mike Gallagher.   He will be banned from entry into China, and all types of property and assets of his in China will be frozen starting on May 21. Organizations and individuals within the territory of China are prohibited from engaging in relevant transactions, cooperation and other activities with Gallagher. If the sanctions are strictly enforced, those who transact with him, including individuals and institutions, could be affected.

Former Rep. Mike Gallagher is joining TitletownTech, a venture capital firm started by the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft, as a senior strategic adviser following his early resignation from Congress.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that Neil Beck will serve as Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for World Trade Organization (WTO) and Multilateral Affairs. Mr. Beck previously served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative in the same office.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced yesterday that he has named Malikha Daniels as Senior Policy Advisor for the Foreign Agricultural Service.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today announced that Katherine White will serve as USTR’s Chief Textiles and Apparel Negotiator. Ms. White previously served as International Trade Policy Advisor on the House Committee on Ways and Means.