Comparative analysis of Jewish appointments from Bush to Trump
Executive branch 2025
Trump has appointed fewer Jews to the executive branch. In addition, they are in less high-profile positions.
At this point, Trump has appointed 12 Jewish individuals and two others married to Jews, out of approximately 90 cabinet and staff positions.
The Obama administration had 38 Jewish officials, the Biden administration had 58, and the last Republican president George W Bush had 31. Even the first Trump administration had more Jews, totaling 20. Note, that these numbers don’t include officials married to Jews.
Mazel tov to the Jewish Virtual Library for their detailed record-keeping.
Trump’s appointments
I compiled this list of Jewish appointments by Trump on my own.
Howard Lutnick (Secretary of Commerce)
Lee Zeldin (EPA administrator)
Jared Isaacman (NASA administrator)
David Sacks (AI & Crypto Czar)
Jacob Helberg (Under Secretary of State - Economic growth, Energy, and Environment
Charles Kushner (Ambassador to France)
Steven Witkoff (Special envoy - Middle East)
Adam Boehler1 (Special envoy - Hostage)
Sylvester Stallone (Special envoy - Hollywood)
Stephen Miller Deputy (Chief of Staff for President)
Jacob Reses (Chief of Staff for VP)
Will Scharf (White House Staff Secretary)
Dan Scavino2 (White House Deputy Chief of Staff)
Alina Habba3 (Counselor to the President)
Biden’s appointments
Some of Biden’s most prominent appointments were Jews. There were 58 Jews in the Biden administration4. This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list.
Anthony Blinken (Secretary of State)
Janet Yellen (Secretary of Treasury)
Merrick Garland (Attorney General)
Avril Haines (Director of National Intelligence)
Alejandro Mayorkas (Secretary of Homeland Security)
Rochelle Walensky (Director of the CDC)
Steve Dettelbach (Director of the ATF)
David Cohen (Deputy CIA Director)
Anne Neuberger (Deputy NSA, Cyber, and Emerging Tech)
Ron Klain (1st Chief of Staff)
Jeff Zients (2nd Chief of Staff)
Gary Gensler (Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission)
Jessica Rosenworcel (Chair of the Federal Communications Commission)
Ellen Weintraub (Chair of the Federal Election Commission)
Jared Bernstein (Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers)
Samantha Power5 (Director of USAID)
Wendy Sherman (Deputy Secretary of State)
Victoria Nuland (Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs)
Eric Lander (Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy)
Jonathan Kanter (Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust)
Rachel Levine (Assistant Secretary for Health)
Polly Trottenberg (Deputy Secretary of Transportation)
Stephanie Pollack (Deputy Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration)
Andy Slavitt (Senior Advisor for COVID-19)
David Kessler (Head of Operation Warp Speed)
At least 18 ambassadors were Jewish (including ambassadors to Germany, Canada, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Argentina, Israel, the European Union, and others)
Presidential families
On a fun side note, both Biden and Trump have in-laws who are Jewish. All three of Biden’s children married Jews — Hallie Olivere, Melissa Cohen, and Howard Krein. Vice President Kamala Harris's husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. Trump has a Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
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This article is part of a series on Jewish leaders in America. Executive branch, Congress, state and local government, university presidents, NFL, MLB, NBA, MLS, and WNBA.
Post-publication: Adam Boehler's nomination was withdrawn after saying, “We’re the United States, we’re not Israel. We have specific interests at play.” He stayed involved in negotiations as a non-confirmed “special government employee” but no longer as a special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, which required Senate confirmation.
Dan Scavino is not Jewish. He has a Jewish wife.
Alina Habba is not Jewish. She has a Jewish husband.
The Jewish Virtual Library lists 57 Jews, but missed Ellen Weintraub. This number doesn’t include people with Jewish spouses, such as Samantha Power.
Samantha Power is not Jewish. She has a Jewish husband and family.