Project 2025 Tracker / What’s done, what’s next

6. Department of State · Notable · Day one

Replace all State Department leadership on January 20

Partially done

173 6. Department of State

“To the extent possible, all non-confirmed senior appointees should be selected by the President-elect’s transition team or the new President’s Office of Presidential Personnel (depending on the timing of selection) and be in place the first day of the Administration. No one in a leadership position on the morning of January 20 should hold that position at the end of the day.”

What has happened

  1. Partially done

    Part of the Day-One replacement happened and part did not. Michael Anton took over the Office of Policy Planning on 2025-01-20 itself, so at least one senior non-confirmed post was filled by a transition selection on day one. But leadership of whole bureaus stayed in career or acting hands for months: the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs had no politically appointed head until a Senior Bureau Official was installed on 2025-05-19, and the Department's own senior-officials directory still carries a run of “Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary” and “Acting Director” entries. The Quote's test — that no one holding a leadership position on the morning of January 20 holds it at the end of the day — is not met on this record.

Research log

What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence

Research notes

  • Day One ask. Evidence is the Department’s own dated biographies; there is no published personnel order for 2025-01-20 and State did not issue a press release about the changeover.
  • Boundary: partial rather than attempted, because the ask is about a state of affairs on one day and some of it was delivered on that day.
  • Related: #460, #461, #466 (political ambassadors).
Action
appoint
Object
State Department leadership positions
ID
463