Katherine Scarlett Emerges as Key Trump Nominee as Senate Confirms 48 in En Bloc Vote

Katherine Scarlett was confirmed Thursday as the next of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), a high-profile addition the White House said will speed permitting reviews and streamline federal environmental reviews.

“I’m extraordinarily grateful to President Trump for affording me the opportunity to lead the Council on Environmental Quality,” Scarlett said in a statement released Thursday afternoon. “I will work hard every day to leverage this Nation’s environmental policies and technologies to grow the American economy while ensuring that every American has clean air, clean water, and clean land.”

Scarlett is a career Republican policy staffer who has served in both Trump administrations and currently serves as Chief of Staff at CEQ. She began her political career as an RNC Leadership Initiative Fellow (2015–16) and worked as a field organizer for the Ohio Republican Party during the 2016 election. In 2017 she joined CEQ as a special assistant and later served as deputy associate director for infrastructure through February 2020, when she became chief of staff at the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.

During the Biden era, Scarlett worked on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), serving as a professional staff member and later as senior professional staff before returning to CEQ in 2025.

The confirmation drew praise from industry and the administration; the White House said Scarlett’s experience “will help cut red tape for energy and infrastructure projects” while adhering to existing environmental reviews and legal safeguards.

Scarlett was one of dozens of nominees confirmed Thursday in a single en bloc vote. The Senate, in a 51–47 party-line vote under newly revised rules meant to clear a backlog of lower-level executive and ambassadorial posts, confirmed 48 nominees in total.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) defended the move, saying the chamber needed to act after months of delays that left executive-branch desks unfilled. “If the Senate had continued at the pace that we’ve been proceeding at … there would still be hundreds of empty desks in the executive branch,” he said. Republicans emphasize the change is limited to lower-level confirmations and does not alter the process for Cabinet-level or judicial nominees.

Democrats warned the rule shift sets a dangerous precedent for minority rights in the Senate and could be used against them if control of the chamber flips in the future. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the move unnecessary and cautioned that narrowing minority protections deepens partisan friction.

Notable names in the package included a number of ambassadorships and senior agency posts. Among them was Kimberly Guilfoyle (ambassador to Greece) and Callista Gingrich (ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein).

The full list of confirmed nominees:

Jessica Kramer — Assistant Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency — senior EPA official overseeing program/region responsibilities.
Dario Gil — Under Secretary for Science, Department of Energy — oversees DOE science and national lab programs.
Brandon Williams — Under Secretary for Nuclear Security (DOE) — senior official at NNSA overseeing nuclear security programs.
Tristan Abbey — Administrator, Energy Information Administration — head of federal energy statistics and analysis agency.
Leslie Beyer — Assistant Secretary, Department of the Interior — senior official for land/minerals management.
Theodore J. Garrish — Assistant Secretary of Energy (Nuclear Energy) — leads DOE’s nuclear energy policy and programs.
Andrea Travnicek — Assistant Secretary, Department of the Interior — senior DOI official (specific portfolio assigned by department).
Justin Overbaugh — Deputy Under Secretary of Defense — senior management role in the Pentagon’s civilian leadership.
Scott Pappano — Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration — senior NNSA operations and oversight official.
Michael Cadenazzi — Assistant Secretary of Defense — sub-cabinet civilian role within the Department of Defense.
Sean O’Keefe — Deputy Under Secretary of Defense — senior Pentagon official (policy/administration duties).
Michael Obadal — Under Secretary of the Army — second-highest civilian leader in the Department of the Army.
Katherine Sutton — Assistant Secretary of Defense — senior Army/DoD civilian position (specific portfolio).
William L. Doffermyre — Solicitor, Department of the Interior — chief legal officer for Interior Department.
Kyle Haustveit — Assistant Secretary of Energy (Fossil Energy) — leads DOE fossil energy policy and programs.
Matthew Napoli — Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, NNSA — oversees nonproliferation programs.
Richard Anderson — Assistant Secretary of the Air Force — senior civilian official in Air Force policy/management.
Conner Prochaska — Director, ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) — leads DOE’s high-risk, high-reward energy R&D agency.
Tina Pierce — Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy — DOE’s primary financial officer.
Jonathan Brightbill — General Counsel, Department of Energy — DOE’s chief legal officer.
Robert Gleason — Director, Amtrak Board of Directors (5-year term) — member leading national passenger-rail oversight.
Sean McMaster — Administrator, Federal Highway Administration — leads FHWA and federal highway programs.
Donald Bergin III — Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Congressional and Legislative Affairs) — VA liaison to Congress.
John Squires — Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property & Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — head of USPTO.
Daniel Aronowitz — Assistant Secretary of Labor — senior Labor Department official (portfolio assigned by department).
Michael Dodd — Assistant Secretary of Defense — senior civilian role in the Pentagon (new position).
William (Jordan) Gillis — Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment — senior civilian responsible for Army installations, energy policy, environmental programs and infrastructure.
Jules W. Hurst III — Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs — oversees personnel policy, reserve components, and readiness/force-management issues for the Army.
Brent Ingraham — Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (Army acquisition chief) — leads Army acquisition, logistics, and technology programs (the service’s top civilian acquisition official).
George Wesley Street — Director, National Counterintelligence and Security Center — leads NCSC counterintelligence efforts.
Peter Thomson — Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency — CIA’s chief oversight and audit official.
Jeffrey Bartos — U.S. Representative to the U.N. for Management and Reform (ambassador-rank) — represents U.S. on U.N. management matters.
Jennifer Locetta — Alternate Representative to the U.N. for Special Political Affairs (ambassador-rank) — U.S. alternate at U.N. Security Council-related affairs.
Dudley Hoskins — Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs — senior USDA official for marketing/regulatory programs.
Scott Hutchins — Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics — leads USDA science and research mission.
Benjamin DeMarzo — Assistant Secretary, Housing and Urban Development — senior HUD official (portfolio assigned by department).
Jovan Jovanovic — President, Export-Import Bank of the United States (term to Jan. 20, 2029) — leads U.S. export credit agency.
Richard Fordyce — Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation — oversees farm programs and conservation.
Paul Roberti — Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration — leads PHMSA (pipeline and hazardous materials safety).
Jonathan Morrison — Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — leads NHTSA and vehicle safety programs.
Jason Evans — Under Secretary of State (Management) — senior State Department official handling management of operations.
Edward Aloysius O’Connell — Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia (15-year term) — judicial appointment to D.C. Superior Court.
Katherine Scarlett — Member, Council on Environmental Quality — confirmed to chair the CEQ (White House CEQ leadership role).
Bryan Switzer — Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (Asia, Textiles, Investment, Services, and IP) — ambassador-rank trade official for Asia portfolio.
Callista Gingrich — Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Confederation and to Liechtenstein — U.S. ambassador to Switzerland & Liechtenstein.
Kimberly Guilfoyle — Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Greece — U.S. ambassador to Greece.
Christine Toretti — Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Sweden — U.S. ambassador to Sweden.
Peter Lamelas — Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic — U.S. ambassador to Argentina.