President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 9, 2019

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts   Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration: J. Brett Blanton of Virginia, to be the Architect of the Capitol. Mr. Blanton is currently the Deputy Vice President for Engineering at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.  He leads all planning, design, construction, environmental planning, building permitting, and code enforcement for all real property controlled by the Airports Authority in support of the 50 million passengers who travel through Reagan National and Dulles International Airports.  Mr. Blanton retired from the United States Navy in 2015, following 22 years of service. While in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps, he oversaw some of the largest infrastructure projects undertaken by the Department of the Navy.  He is a 1993 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and has a M.S. in Ocean Engineering from Virginia Tech.  Brett is a registered Professional Engineer and was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for valor while serving in Baghdad, Iraq. Jennifer Yue Barber of Kentucky, to be Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador, and Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Ms. Barber is a member of the law firm Frost Brown Todd LLC focusing on State and local tax, economic incentives, and government affairs.  She was appointed by the Governor of Kentucky to serve on the University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees.  She is also a member of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Tax Working Group and Litigation Committee and a member of the American Bar Association and Kentucky Bar Association, where she leads and serves on multiple committees.  She is also a member of the local advisory board for United States Bank, the Nation’s fifth largest commercial bank.  She served on the Kentucky State Fair Board, which has over $450 million in annual economic impact to Kentucky.  Ms. Barber earned her B.S. from the University of Kentucky and her J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law.  She clerked in the Office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Kentucky.  She is fluent in Chinese (Cantonese). Ramsey Coats Day of Virginia, to be an Assistant Administrator (Bureau for Africa) of the United States Agency for International Development, and to serve concurrently as a Member of the Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation. Mr. Day has served at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) since January 2018. Before joining USAID, Mr. Day was a Senior Director at the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the IRI Country Director in Amman, Jordan, from 2014 to 2017.He has held numerous positions within the international development community in the United States and overseas, including Country Representative for USAID in Montenegro and Senior Advisor for the USAID Europe and Eurasia Bureau.  Mr. Day earned his B.A. from the University of Mississippi and a Master in Public Administration (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Brandon Lipps of Texas, to be the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, Department of Agriculture. Mr. Lipps served as Chief of Staff for the Office of the Chancellor at the Texas Tech University System, comprising a flagship institution, a regional university, and two health related institutions serving 53,000 students and its more than 20,000 employees worldwide. Previously, Lipps served as Counsel and Senior Professional Staff to the United States House Committee on Agriculture, including during formulation and passage of the 2014 Farm Bill.  He also served as Legislative Aide and Rural District Director for a former Texas State Senator and Associate at the Lubbock law firm of Crenshaw, Dupree, & Milam. Lipps hails from Woodson, Texas. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Texas Tech University and a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law.