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Trump's 'Acting' Cabinet Grows With Acosta Departure

By Arnie Seipel
Published July 12, 2019 at 11:47 AM EDT
President Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House on June 21, 2018. Just over a year later, he's had turnover in the departments of Justice, Interior, Homeland Security, Defense, Labor, and a number of lower agencies.
Win McNamee
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Getty Images
President Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House on June 21, 2018. Just over a year later, he's had turnover in the departments of Justice, Interior, Homeland Security, Defense, Labor, and a number of lower agencies.

When Labor Secretary Alex Acosta steps down on July 19, his deputy Patrick Pizzella will step in as acting head of the department.

The acting secretary will have some company.

The Defense Department is currently led by acting Secretary Mark Esper, who is expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan has been managing the humanitarian crisis at the border and enacting Trump's immigration policies. He also has acting deputies in key DHS agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Many other key agencies are also led by acting officials, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the Food and Drug Administration — even the president's chief of staff Mick Mulvaney is in an acting role.

As NPR previously reported, the Trump administration has seen historic turnover.

The number of acting officials also means a diminished role for Congress, because various departments and agencies are being led by officials who were not confirmed for their jobs by the Senate.

Note: Labor Secretary Acosta will depart his post on July 19.

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Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Arnie Seipel
Arnie Seipel is the Deputy Washington Editor for NPR. He oversees daily news coverage of politics and the inner workings of the federal government. Prior to this role, he edited politics coverage for seven years, leading NPR's reporting on the 2016, 2018 and 2020 elections. In between campaigns, Seipel edited coverage of Congress and the White House, and he coordinated coverage of major events including State of the Union addresses, Supreme Court confirmations and congressional hearings.
See stories by Arnie Seipel