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Tracking President Joe Biden’s Cabinet and appointees

Diversity and pace of Senate-confirmed positions

U.S. President Joe Biden signs an executive order after speaking during an event on his administration's Covid-19 response with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, left, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. Biden in his first full day in office plans to issue a sweeping set of executive orders to tackle the raging Covid-19 pandemic that will rapidly reverse or refashion many of his predecessor's most heavily criticized policies. Photo by Al Drago/Pool/ABACAPRESS.COM
Editor's note:

Because this project only covered the first 300 days of Joe Biden’s presidency, this page and the information within will no longer be updated; the last update was made on Nov. 17, 2021. It will remain in its current state as a resource for historical data.

One of the president’s most significant constitutional powers is the ability to staff the top tiers of the executive branch with the advice and consent of the Senate. In an effort to evaluate the Biden administration over the course of its first year, Brookings monitored the Senate confirmations process in two ways: first by tracking key demographic data of these individuals through the first 300 days, second by tracking the pace of confirmations in major departments at the 100-, 200-, and 300-day marks. This information is placed in context by comparing it to Biden’s three predecessors: Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Note that the data on this page only includes confirmations to the 15 departments in the line of presidential succession; this excludes U.S. attorneys, among others. View a list of Senate-confirmed personnel included in this tracker here. Further notes and disclaimers on the dataset is available here. For a more detailed breakdown of this information, please contact Kathryn Dunn Tenpas.

Diversity of Senate confirmations

This section displays information on Senate-confirmed appointees by presidential administration according to two key demographic factors: The first chart displays gender (via frequency of women appointees), the second displays race/ethnicity. The data runs through the first 300 days of each administration. See full notes on the data here.

Pace of Senate confirmations

This section displays the frequency of Senate-confirmed appointees at the 100-, 200-, and 300-day marks within the first year of a presidency. The first figure aggregates these confirmations across the 15 departments in the line of presidential succession; below that is an agency-level breakdown in alphabetical order.

Pace of Senate confirmations

This section displays the frequency of Senate-confirmed appointees at the 100-, 200-, and 300-day marks within the first year of a presidency. The first figure aggregates these confirmations across the 15 departments in the line of presidential succession; below that is an agency-level breakdown in alphabetical order.

Pace of Senate confirmations by agency

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 2 4 1 1
101-200 days 7 7 0 2
201-300 days 4 2 3 4
Total 13 13 4 7

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 1 3 1 1
101-200 days 16 6 6 3
201-300 days 1 2 3 2
Total 18 11 10 6

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 2 7 1 3
101-200 days 32 15 14 17
201-300 days 7 7 11 2
Total 41 29 26 22

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 2 6 1 1
101-200 days 9 4 1 1
201-300 days 1 2 0 5
Total 12 12 2 7

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 1 1 1 2
101-200 days 9 11 1 4
201-300 days 1 2 4 2
Total 11 14 6 8

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 1 1 2 3
101-200 days 9 8 4 4
201-300 days 1 2 1 1
Total 11 11 7 8

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 2 2 2
101-200 days 9 4 4
201-300 days 2 2 1
Total 13 8 7

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 1 4 1 1
101-200 days 8 5 2 1
201-300 days 0 0 1 1
Total 9 9 4 3

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 1 2 1 1
101-200 days 7 9 1 4
201-300 days 0 3 2 3
Total 8 14 4 8

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 1 9 1 3
101-200 days 13 0 5 4
201-300 days 8 3 3 6
Total 22 12 9 13

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 3 3 1 1
101-200 days 7 5 0 2
201-300 days 2 2 1 3
Total 12 10 2 6

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 11 10 3 5
101-200 days 67 75 20 5
201-300 days 55 7 32 17
Total 133 92 55 27

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 1 6 1 2
101-200 days 6 8 2 2
201-300 days 5 1 3 0
Total 12 15 6 4

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 3 2 1 2
101-200 days 11 8 7 1
201-300 days 1 1 1 4
Total 15 11 9 7

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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Timeframe George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
1-100 days 2 3 1 2
101-200 days 7 5 3 4
201-300 days 0 0 2 1
Total 9 8 6 7

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List of Senate confirmations

This section displays a list of Senate-confirmed individuals that are included in this tracker; they are listed in chronological order based on date of confirmation. The data on this page only includes confirmations to the 15 departments in the line of presidential succession; this excludes U.S. attorneys, among others.

Senate-confirmed appointees, days 1-100

Count Name Position Race/Ethnicity Gender Date Confirmed
1 Lloyd Austin Secretary of Defense Black M 1/22/2021
2 Janet Yellen Secretary of the Treasury White W 1/25/2021
3 Antony Blinken Secretary of State White M 1/26/2021
4 Pete Buttigieg Secretary of Transportation White M 2/2/2021
5 Alejandro Mayorkas Secretary of Homeland Security Hispanic/Latino M 2/2/2021
6 Kathleen Hicks Undersecretary of Defense White W 2/8/2021
7 Denis McDonough Secretary of Veterans Affairs White M 2/8/2021
8 Linda Thomas Greenfield U.N. Ambassador, Dept. of State Black W 2/23/2021
9 Tom Vilsack Secretary of Agriculture White M 2/23/2021
10 Jennifer Granholm Secretary of Energy White W 2/25/2021
11 Miguel Cardona Secretary of Education Hispanic/Latino M 3/1/2021
12 Gina Raimondo Secretary of Commerce White W 3/2/2021
13 Marcia Fudge Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Black W 3/10/2021
14 Merrick Garland Attorney General, Dept. of Justice White M 3/10/2021
15 Deb Haaland Secretary of the Interior Native American W 3/15/2021
16 Xavier Becerra Secretary of Health and Human Services Hispanic/Latino M 3/18/2021
17 Brian P. McKeon Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources White M 3/18/2021
18 Marty Walsh Secretary of Labor White M 3/22/2021
19 Vivek Murthy Surgeon General, Dept. of Health and Human Services Asian M 3/23/2021
20 Rachel Levine Assistant Secretary for Health White W 3/24/2021
21 Adewale “Wally” O. Adeyemo Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Black M 3/25/2021
22 David Turk Deputy Secretary of Energy White M 3/25/2021
23 Wendy Sherman Deputy Secretary of State White W 4/13/2021
24 Polly Trottenberg Deputy Secretary of Transportation White W 4/13/2021
25 Vanita Gupta Associate Attorney General, Dept. of Justice Asian W 4/21/2021
26 Lisa Monaco Deputy Attorney General, Dept. of Justice White W 4/21/2021
27 Deanne Bennett Criswell Administrator of FEMA, Dept. of Homeland Security White W 4/22/2021
28 Colin Hackett Kahl Undersecretary of Defense for Policy White M 4/27/2021
29 Victoria Nuland Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs White W 4/29/2021
30 Richard A. Sauber General Counsel, Dept. of Veterans Affairs White M 4/29/2021

Senate-confirmed appointees, days 101-200

Count Name Position Race/Ethnicity Gender Date Confirmed
31 Cindy Martin Deputy Secretary of Education White W 5/11/2021
32 Andrea Palm Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services White W 5/11/2021
33 Jewel Bronaugh Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Black W 5/13/2021
34 Don Graves, Jr. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Black M 5/13/2021
35 Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dept. of Health and Human Services Black W 5/25/2021
36 Kristen Clarke Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Dept. of Justice Black W 5/25/2021
37 Christine Wormuth Secretary of the Army, Dept. of Defense White W 5/27/2021
38 Michael J. McCord Undersecretary of Defense (Comptroller) White M 5/28/2021
39 Ronald S. Moultrie Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Black M 5/28/2021
40 Nuria I. Fernandez Federal Transit Administrator, Dept. of Transportation Black; Hispanic/Latino W 6/10/2021
41 Leslie B. Kiernan General Counsel, Dept. of Commerce White W 6/10/2021
42 Adrianne Todman Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Black W 6/10/2021
43 Tommy P. Beaudreau Deputy Secretary of the Interior White M 6/17/2021
44 Matthew T. Quinn Undersecretary of Veterans Affairs for Memorial Affairs White M 6/17/2021
45 Richard W. Spinrad Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere White M 6/17/2021
46 John K. Tien Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Asian M 6/17/2021
47 Tanya Marie Trujillo Assistant Secretary of the Interior Unknown W 6/17/2021
48 Ali Nouri Assistant Secretary of Energy for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs White* M 6/22/2021
49 Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Dept. of Health and Human Services Black W 6/24/2021
50 Maryanne T. Donaghy Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection White W 6/24/2021
51 Shannon Aneal Estenoz Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife, Dept. of the Interior Unknown W 6/24/2021
52 Anne Milgram Administrator of Drug Enforcement, Dept. of Justice White W 6/24/2021
53 Carlos Alberto Monje Jr. Undersecretary of Transportation for Policy Hispanic/Latino M 6/24/2021
54 Dawn Myers O’Connell Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Dept. of Health and Human Services White W 6/24/2021
55 Patricia L. Ross Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Congressional and Legislative Affairs White W 6/24/2021
56 Jen Easterly Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Dept. of Homeland Security White W 7/12/2021
57 Julie A. Su Deputy Secretary of Labor Asian W 7/13/2021
58 Uzra Zeya Undersecretary of State (Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights) Asian W 7/13/2021
59 Seema Nanda Solicitor for the Dept. of Labor Asian W 7/14/2021
60 J. Nellie Liang Undersecretary of the Treasury Asian W 7/15/2021
61 Donald Michael Remy Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs White M 7/15/2021
62 Kenneth Allen Polite Jr. Assistant Attorney General, Dept. of Justice Black M 7/20/2021
63 Bonnie D. Jenkins Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Black W 7/21/2021
64 Meredith Berger Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Dept. of Defense White W 7/22/2021
65 Jill Hruby Undersecretary for Nuclear Security, Dept. of Energy White W 7/22/2021
66 Gina Maria Ortiz Jones Undersecretary of the Air Force, Dept. of Defense Asian W 7/22/2021
67 Caroline Diane Krass General Counsel, Dept. of Defense White W 7/22/2021
68 Ely Stefansky Ratner Assistant Secretary of Defense White M 7/22/2021
69 Heidi Shyu Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Asian W 7/22/2021
70 Shawn Graham Skelly Assistant Secretary of Defense White W 7/22/2021
71 Frank Kendall III Undersecretary of the Air Force, Dept. of Defense White M 7/26/2021
72 Todd Sunhwae Kim Assistant Attorney General, Dept. of Justice Asian M 7/27/2021
73 Frank A. Rose Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration; Dept. of Energy Black M 7/29/2021
74 Deborah G. Rosenbaum Assistant Secretary of Defense White W 7/29/2021
75 Susanna V. Blume Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, Dept. of Defense White W 7/30/2021
76 Janie Simms Hipp General Counsel, Dept. of Agriculture Native American W 7/30/2021
77 Ur Mendoza Jaddou Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Dept. of Homeland Security Hispanic/Latino, White* W 7/30/2021
78 Robert Peter Silvers Undersecretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans, Dept. of Homeland Security White M 8/5/2021
79 Jose W. Fernandez Undersecretary of State (Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment) Hispanic/Latino M 8/6/2021
80 Kathleen S. Miller Deputy Undersecretary of Defense White W 8/6/2021
81 Carlos Del Toro Secretary of the Navy, Dept. of Defense Hispanic/Latino M 8/7/2021
82 Christopher Paul Maier Assistant Secretary of Defense White M 8/7/2021
83 Bryan Todd Newland Assistant Secretary of the Interior Native American M 8/7/2021
84 Rena Bitter Assistant Secretary of State (Consular Affairs) White W 8/9/2021
85 Mara Elizabeth Karlin Assistant Secretary of Defense White W 8/9/2021
86 Gentry O. Smith Assistant Secretary of State (Diplomatic Security) Black M 8/9/2021
87 Caral E. Spangler Assistant Secretary of the Army, Dept. of Defense White W 8/9/2021
88 Samuel T. Walsh General Counsel, Dept. of Energy White M 8/9/2021

Senate-confirmed appointees, days 201-300

Count Name Position Race/Ethnicity Gender Date Confirmed
89 Alejandra Y. Castillo Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Hispanic/Latino W 8/11/2021
90 Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Hispanic/Latino M 8/11/2021
91 Andrew Eilperin Light Assistant Secretary of Energy (International Affairs) White M 8/11/2021
92 Jennifer Lester Moffitt Undersecretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs White W 8/11/2021
93 Kenneth Lee Salazar U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Dept. of State Hispanic/Latino M 8/11/2021
94 Damon Y. Smith General Counsel, Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Black M 8/11/2021
95 Taryn Mackenzie Williams Assistant Secretary of Labor Black W 8/11/2021
96 Brett M. Holmgren Assistant Secretary of State (Intelligence and Research) White M 9/13/2021
97 Donald Lu Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Asian M 9/13/2021
98 Brian A. Nichols Assistant Secretary of State (Western Hemisphere Affairs) Black M 9/13/2021
99 James Richard Kvaal Undersecretary of Education White M 9/14/2021
100 Lily Lawrence Batchelder Assistant Secretary of the Treasury White W 9/22/2021
101 Ronald L. Davis Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, Dept. of Justice Black M 9/22/2021
102 Daniel J. Kritenbrink Assistant Secretary of State (East Asian and Pacific Affairs) White M 9/23/2021
103 Karen Erika Donfried Assistant Secretary of State (European Affairs and Eurasian Affairs) White W 9/28/2021
104 Monica P. Medina Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs White W 9/28/2021
105 Mary Catherine Phee Assistant Secretary of State (African Affairs) White W 9/28/2021
106 Todd D. Robinson Assistant Secretary of State (International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs) Black M 9/28/2021
107 Robert T. Anderson Solicitor of the Dept. of the Interior White M 9/29/2021
108 Jessica Lewis Assistant Secretary of State (Political-Military Affairs) White W 9/29/2021
109 Melanie Anne Egorin Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services White W 9/30/2021
110 Tracy Stone-Manning Director of the Bureau of Land Management (Dept. of the Interior) White W 9/30/2021
111 Jonathan Eugene Meyer General Counsel, Dept. of Homeland Security White M 10/4/2021
112 Elizabeth Merrill Brown General Counsel, Dept. of Education White W 10/6/2021
113 Gwen Graham Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs, Dept. of Education White W 10/6/2021
114 Roberto Josue Rodriguez Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development; Dept. of Education Hispanic/Latino M 10/6/2021
115 Xochitl Torres Small Undersecretary of Agriculture for Rural Development Hispanic/Latino W 10/7/2021
116 Catherine Elizabeth Lhamon Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Dept. of Education Black W 10/20/2021
117 Douglas L. Parker Assistant Secretary of Labor White M 10/25/2021
118 Jeffrey Lane Flake U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Dept. of State White M 10/26/2021
119 Victoria Reggie Kennedy U.S. Ambassador to Austria, Dept. of State White W 10/26/2021
120 Cindy Hensley McCain U.S. Representative to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture, Dept. of State White W 10/26/2021
121 Tom Udall U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and U.S. Ambassador to Samoa, Dept. of State White M 10/26/2021
122 Hampton Y. Dellinger Assistant Attorney General, Dept. of Justice White M 10/28/2021
123 Guy T. Kiyokawa Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Enterprise Integration) Asian M 10/28/2021
124 Matthew G. Olsen Assistant Attorney General, Dept. of Justice White M 10/28/2021
125 Elizabeth Prelogar U.S. Solicitor General, Dept. of Justice White W 10/28/2021
126 Christopher H. Schroeder Assistant Attorney General, Dept. of Justice White M 10/28/2021
127 David L. Cohen U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Dept. of State White M 11/2/2021
128 Jonathan Davidson Deputy Undersecretary of the Treasury White M 11/2/2021
129 Michael Carpenter U.S. Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Dept. of State White M 11/3/2021
130 Benjamin Harris Assistant Secretary of the Treasury White M 11/3/2021
131 Rajesh D. Nayak Assistant Secretary of Labor Asian M 11/3/2021
132 Thomas R. Nides U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Dept. of State White M 10/28/2021
133 Adrienne Wojciechowski Assistant Secretary of Agriculture White W 11/3/2021
134 Michael Lee Connor Assistant Secretary of the Army, Dept. of Defense American Indian/Alaska Native M 11/4/2021
135 Geraldine Richmond Undersecretary for Science, Dept. of Energy White W 11/4/2021
136 Robert Luis Santos Director of the Census, Dept. of Commerce Hispanic/Latino M 11/4/2021
137 M. Camille Calimlim Touton Commissioner of Reclamation, Dept. of the Interior Asian W 11/4/2021
138 Robert Farrell Bonnie Undersecretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation White M 11/16/2021
139 Jonathan Kanter Assistant Attorney General, Dept. of Justice White M 11/16/2021
140 Graham Scott Steele Assistant Secretary of the Treasury White M 11/16/2021

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Notes

  • Although newly inaugurated presidents are presented with the opportunity to fill roughly 1,200 Senate-confirmed positions across the federal government, the data on this page only includes confirmations within the 15 departments in the line of presidential succession. This includes the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs. This excludes military and judicial confirmations, individuals being confirmed for seats on commissions, and U.S. attorneys, among others.
  • For the purposes of this tracker, Joe Biden’s first 100 days end on April 30, 2021; days 101-200 end on Aug. 9, 2021; and days 201-300 end on Nov. 17, 2021.
  • * For the race/ethnicity data, U.S. Census categories were used. Due to insufficient information, the race/ethnicity of a small number of individuals could not be determined; these were classified as “Unknown.” For individuals with more than one race/ethnicity, each is reflected in the data; i.e., a single person could be listed in both the “Black” and “Hispanic/Latino” categories. A person with “origins in … the Middle East or North Africa [MENA]” is categorized as white in data about race and ethnicity released by the Census Bureau; there is no specific census classification available for people of MENA descent.
  • Special thanks to Noah Montemarano and Kevin Han for research assistance.

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