President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts

President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration:

Timothy R. Petty of Indiana, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior (Water and Science). Dr. Petty serves as Deputy Legislative Director and Legislative Assistant on issues of water, natural resources, environment, science, technology and telecommunications and space for U.S. Senator James E. Risch of Idaho, a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Previously, Dr. Petty served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water & Science at DOI under President George W. Bush. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Alaska Fairbanks; an M.S. from University of Maryland University College; and a B.S. from Purdue University (Indiana). Prior to his current Senate service, Dr. Petty worked for U.S. Senators Connie Mack of Florida and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. In addition, Dr. Petty worked in California and Indiana as a geologist and hydrogeologist.

Robert Frank Pence of Virginia, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Finland. Mr. Pence is the founder and Chairman of the Board of The Pence Group, a full-service development company dedicated to sustainable development practices. He is actively engaged as a board member of the Gary Sinise Foundation which supports our nation’s veterans, first responders, and their families and has served on the boards of The World Affairs Council, Washington D.C, George Mason University, American University, The Kennedy Center, and the Wolf Trap Foundation. Mr. Pence is also a scholar who has been a lecturer at Georgetown University and a Teaching Fellow at Yale University. Mr. Pence earned a B.A. from the University of Maryland, a J.D. degree and two M.A. degrees from American University, and M.Phil. and M.A. degrees from Yale University.

Alex Michael Azar II of Indiana, to be the Secretary of Health & Human Services. Mr. Azar is currently the chairman of Seraphim Strategies, LLC. Mr. Azar has led a notable career by serving in several senior roles in both the public and private sectors. As President of Lilly USA, LLC, the largest affiliate of global biopharmaceutical leader Eli Lilly and Company, he directly led the U.S. Biomedicines business unit, the affiliate’s largest division, encompassing the areas of neuroscience, cardiovascular health, men’s health, musculoskeletal, autoimmune disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and pain, as well as the sales, marketing, and payer operations of the company’s U.S. commercial business. Prior to his time at Lilly USA, Mr. Azar was the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services immediately after serving as its General Counsel, where the Senate confirmed him for both Presidential appointments by voice vote. He received his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and his juris doctorate from Yale University.

Klitenic of Maryland, to be General Council of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Mr. Klitenic is a partner at Holland & Knight LLP, where he leads the firm’s Homeland Security Team. Mr. Klitenic previously held senior national security and law enforcement positions at both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Justice, having served as the first Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security and Deputy Associate Attorney General at the Justice Department. During his prior government service, Mr. Klitenic oversaw a wide array of matters, including those regarding counterterrorism efforts, information sharing initiatives, government procurement, regulatory compliance and ethics. He received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, where he was an NCAA All-American baseball player, and his J.D. from University of Baltimore School of Law.