President Donald Trump announced his intention last week to nominate two Penn alumni to open administration posts.
A White House press release detailed four new potential appointees to Trump's administration. Rohit Chopra, who received a Wharton MBA in 2009, was nominated to fill the open Democratic seat on the Federal Trade Commission and Kenneth Braithwaite, a 1995 Fels Institute of Government graduate, was nominated to serve as the American ambassador to Norway.
If appointed, Braithwaite and Chopra will join a number of Penn alumni already serving in Trump's administration, including Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr., a 1987 College graduate, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a 1986 Wharton graduate and Securities and Exchange Commission head Jay Clayton, who received his bachelor's degree in Engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1988 and his J.D. from Penn Law School in 1993.
Chopra earned his undergraduate degree in government from Harvard University and serves as a senior fellow for the Consumer Federation of America, where he addresses consumer protection issues.
Braithwaite studied as an undergraduate at the United States Naval Academy and worked as a naval aviator.
According to Bloomberg, Braithwaite retired from the U.S. Navy in 2011, and has served as the executive director of the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council, the vice president of advocacy and government relations for Saint Thomas Health and the executive and state director for former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania (who was a Republican during Braithwaite's tenure, but joined the Democratic party in 2009).
He currently serves as senior vice president and executive officer of East Coast and Pennsylvania offices at Vizient, Inc., a health care improvement organization.
According to CNN, Trump has nominated and confirmed far fewer candidates than both of his predecessors, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, at this point in his term. As of Oct. 23, Trump has made 412 nominations, of which only 172 have been confirmed.
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