United States presidents typically fill their
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filin ...
s and other appointive positions with people from their own
political party. The first Cabinet formed by the first president,
George Washington, included some of Washington's political opponents, but later presidents adopted the practice of filling their Cabinets with members of the president's party.
[Mr. Wilson's Cabinet; Will Be Sagacious Men, But Not Political Experts]
''The New York Times'', November 7, 1912
Appointments across party lines are uncommon. Presidents may appoint members of a different party to high-level positions in order to reduce partisanship or improve cooperation between the political parties.
[William S. Cohen]
''Washington Post'', December 17, 2000 Also presidents often appoint members of a different party because they need
Senate confirmation for many of these positions, and at the time of appointment the Senate was controlled by the opposition party of the president.
Many of the cross-partisan nominees are often moderates within their own parties.
This is a list of people appointed to high-level positions in the
United States federal government by a
president whose political party affiliation was different from that of the appointee. The list includes executive branch appointees and independent agency appointees. Independent or nonpartisan appointees, nominally apolitical appointments (such as
Article III judges and military officers), and members of explicitly bipartisan commissions are not included. A
third party
Third party may refer to:
Business
* Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller
* Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party
* Third-party insurance, such as a V ...
member has never been appointed.
List of appointees
‡ Person was an appointee of the previous administration and was reappointed or retained by the President.
Other notable appointments that crossed party lines
* President
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, a
Democratic-Republican
The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...
, appointed
William Cranch, a
Federalist, as Chief Judge of the
United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia
The United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia (in case citations, C.C.D.C.) was a United States federal court which existed from 1801 to 1863. The court was created by the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801.
History
The D.C. ci ...
.
* President Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, asked
Charles Lee, a Federalist, to be appointed
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President
John Quincy Adams, a Democratic-Republican, appointed
Joseph Hopkinson
Joseph Hopkinson (November 12, 1770January 15, 1842) was a United States representative from Pennsylvania and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Education and career
Bor ...
, a
Federalist, as a
U.S. federal judge on the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* President
Franklin Pierce, a
Democrat, appointed
Isaac Blackford
Isaac Newton Blackford (November 6, 1786 – December 31, 1859) was the second Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, the court's longest serving Justice, and among the longest serving jurists in the history of the United States. He wrote ...
, a
Whig, as a judge on the
United States Court of Claims.
* President
Abraham Lincoln, a
Republican, appointed
Stephen Field, a Democrat, as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President
Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, appointed
Samuel Blatchford, a Republican, as
Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
* President Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, appointed
Daniel Clark, a Republican, as
Judge on the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire.
* President
Rutherford B. Hayes, a Republican, appointed
David M. Key
David McKendree Key (January 27, 1824 – February 3, 1900) was a United States senator from Tennessee, United States Postmaster General and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennesse ...
, a Democrat, as
Judge on the United States District Courts for the Eastern and
Middle Districts of Tennessee.
* President
Benjamin Harrison, a Republican, appointed
Howell Edmunds Jackson
Howell Edmunds Jackson (April 8, 1832 – August 8, 1895) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1893 until his death in 1895. His brief tenure on the ...
, a Democrat, as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President
William Howard Taft, a Republican, appointed
Horace Harmon Lurton
Horace Harmon Lurton (February 26, 1844 – July 12, 1914) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and previously was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and of th ...
, a Democrat, as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President William Howard Taft, a Republican, appointed
Edward Douglass White, a Democrat, as
Chief Justice of the United States.
* President William Howard Taft, a Republican, appointed
Joseph Rucker Lamar, a Democrat, as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President
Warren G. Harding, a Republican, appointed
Pierce Butler, a Democrat, as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President
Calvin Coolidge, a Republican, appointed
John Ellis Martineau
John Ellis Martineau (December 2, 1873 – March 6, 1937) was the 28th governor of Arkansas and was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. His term as Governor was marked by the G ...
, a Democrat, as
Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
* President
Herbert Hoover, a Republican, appointed
Benjamin N. Cardozo, a prominent Democrat, as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President Herbert Hoover, a Republican, appointed
Eugene Black, a Democrat, as a member of the
U.S. Board of Tax Appeals
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
* President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, appointed
Harlan F. Stone, a Republican, as
Chief Justice of the United States.
* President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, appointed
Robert P. Patterson, a Republican, as
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
* President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, appointed
William Clark, a Republican, as
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
* President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, appointed
Duncan Lawrence Groner, a Republican, as
Chief Justice of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
* President
Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, appointed U.S. Senator
Harold Hitz Burton, a Republican, as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, appointed
Ernest W. Gibson Jr., a Republican, as a
U.S. federal judge on the
United States District Court for the District of Vermont.
* President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican, appointed
William J. Brennan Jr., a Democrat, as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican, appointed
J. Joseph Smith
John Joseph Smith (January 25, 1904 – February 16, 1980) was an American lawyer, a United States representative from Connecticut, a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a United States di ...
, a Democrat, as a judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
* President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican, appointed
Clement Haynsworth
Clement Furman Haynsworth Jr. (October 30, 1912 – November 22, 1989) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was also an unsuccessful nominee for the United States Supreme Court in 19 ...
, a Democrat, as a judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
* President
John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, appointed
Harold R. Tyler Jr., a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
* President
Richard Nixon, a Republican, appointed
Donald S. Russell, a former U.S. senator and Democrat, as judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
* President Richard Nixon, a Republican, appointed
Walter R. Mansfield
Walter Roe Mansfield (July 1, 1911 – January 8, 1987) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the So ...
, a Democrat, as judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
* President Richard Nixon, a Republican, appointed
Charles Clark, a Democrat, as judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
* President Richard Nixon, a Republican, nominated
Clement Haynsworth
Clement Furman Haynsworth Jr. (October 30, 1912 – November 22, 1989) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was also an unsuccessful nominee for the United States Supreme Court in 19 ...
, a Democrat, as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President Richard Nixon, a Republican, appointed
Lewis F. Powell Jr., a lifelong Democrat, as
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
* President
Gerald Ford, a Republican, appointed
Terry Shell
Terry Lee Shell (April 2, 1922 – June 25, 1978) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas and the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
Education a ...
, a Democrat, as
Judge on the United States District Courts for the Eastern and
Western Districts of Arkansas.
* President
Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, appointed
Frank Minis Johnson
Frank Minis Johnson Jr. (October 30, 1918 – July 23, 1999) was a United States district judge and United States Circuit Judge serving 1955 to 1999 on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, United States Court of Ap ...
, a Republican, as judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
* President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, appointed
Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy, a Republican, as judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
* President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, appointed
Otto Richard Skopil Jr., a Republican, as judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
* President
Ronald Reagan, a Republican, appointed
U.S. Representative Sam B. Hall Jr., a Democrat, as
Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
* President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, appointed
Kimba Wood, a Democrat, as
Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
* President
George H. W. Bush, a Republican, appointed
Sonia Sotomayor, a Democrat, as
Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
* President
Bill Clinton, a Democrat, appointed
Maryanne Trump Barry
Maryanne Trump Barry (born April 5, 1937) is an American attorney and a retired United States federal judge. She became an Assistant United States Attorney in 1974, and was first appointed to the United States District Court for the District of ...
, a Republican, as judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
* President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, appointed
Richard C. Tallman, a Republican, as judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
* President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, appointed
Yvette Kane, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
* President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, appointed
Richard Barclay Surrick
Richard Barclay Surrick (born 1937) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Education and career
Born in Media, Pennsylvania Surrick received a Bachelor of Arts ...
, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, nominated
Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, a Republican, as
Secretary of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...
.
* President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, nominated
Governor of Massachusetts William Weld, a Republican, as
United States ambassador to Mexico.
* President
George W. Bush, a Republican, appointed
Philip Ray Martinez
Philip Ray Martinez (July 13, 1957 – February 26, 2021) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Education and career
Born in El Paso, Texas, El Pas ...
, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the
United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Philip Martinez
Votesmart.org
* President George W. Bush, a Republican, appointed C. Darnell Jones II, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* President George W. Bush, a Republican, appointed Legrome D. Davis, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* President George W. Bush, a Republican, appointed Timothy J. Savage, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* President George W. Bush, a Republican, appointed David S. Cercone, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
* President George W. Bush, a Republican, appointed Freda L. Wolfson, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...
.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, nominated U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican, as United States Secretary of Commerce.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed Matthew W. Brann, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed Gregory N. Stivers, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed Thomas M. Durkin, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the .
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed John Robert Blakey
John Robert "Jack" Blakey (born August 1965) is a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and former Illinois prosecutor.
Biography
Blakey was born in 1 ...
, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the .
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed Jeffrey L. Schmehl, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed Edward G. Smith, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed Jerry Pappert, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed John Tharp, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the .
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed David Barlow, a Republican, as United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the District of Utah.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, nominated William F. Jung, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, nominated Karen Gren Scholer, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
* President Barack Obama, a Democrat, nominated Marilyn Horan, a Republican, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
* President Donald Trump, a Republican, nominated Nellie Liang, a Democrat, to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
* President Donald Trump, a Republican, appointed Susan Paradise Baxter, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
* President Donald Trump, a Republican, appointed Robert J. Colville, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
* President Donald Trump, a Republican, appointed John Milton Younge, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
* President Donald Trump, a Republican, appointed Lewis J. Liman, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
* President Donald Trump, a Republican, appointed Mary S. McElroy, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
* President Donald Trump, a Republican, appointed Maryellen Noreika, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
* President Donald Trump, a Republican, appointed Stephanie D. Davis
Stephanie Dawkins Davis (née Stephanie Renaye Dawkins, born 1967) is an American attorney who is serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She previously served as a United States dis ...
, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
* President Donald Trump, a Republican, nominated Hector Gonzalez, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
* President Donald Trump, a Republican, nominated Jennifer H. Rearden, a Democrat, as a U.S. federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
* President Joe Biden, a Democrat, appointed Kim Wyman, a Republican, to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Notes
References
Key
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appointments that crossed party lines
Lists of American politicians
Political office-holders in the United States