The Deputy Secretary of Commerce is a high-ranking position within the

U.S. Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth ...

. It was created on December 13, 1979, when President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

sent a letter to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

and nominated Luther H. Hodges Jr., who then currently held the title of

under secretary of commerce A United States Under Secretary of Commerce is one of several positions in the United States Department of Commerce, serving under the United States Secretary of Commerce. History In June 1939, Edward J. Noble was appointed the first Under Secreta ...

. The deputy secretary serves as the department’s chief operating officer, with responsibility for the day-to-day management of its approximately $11.4 billion budget, 13 operating units, and 46,000 employees. In that capacity, the deputy secretary is also a member of the President’s Management Council. The current deputy secretary is Don Graves, who was sworn in on May 14, 2021.

History

The deputy secretary serves as the principal deputy of the

secretary of commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

in all matters affecting the department and performs continuing and special duties as the secretary may assign including, as may be specified by the secretary, the exercise of policy direction and general supervision over operating units not placed under other Secretarial Officers or other Department officials. In addition, the deputy secretary acts as secretary if the secretary has died, resigned, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office of secretary. Rebecca M. Blank was the deputy secretary of commerce until she stepped down on May 31, 2013. She was confirmed by unanimous consent by the U.S. Senate in March 2012. She had been serving as acting deputy secretary since November 18, 2010. She replaced Dennis F. Hightower, who was deputy secretary of commerce from August 2009 to August 2010.

Patrick D. Gallagher Patrick David Gallagher (born March 29, 1963) is an American physicist and the eighteenth chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh. He was formerly the 14th director of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Techn ...

was appointed acting deputy secretary on June 1, 2013.

Bruce H. Andrews Bruce Huntington Andrews (born ) is a former United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce. Early life and education Andrews is a native of Syracuse, New York. He graduated from Nottingham High School in Syracuse, New York. He is a graduate of ...

was confirmed as the next deputy secretary on July 24, 2014.

List of deputy secretaries of commerce

References

External links

The official biography of Sampson, the former Deputy SecretaryThe mission and organization of the Department of Commerce, in which the Deputy Secretary's functions and duties are listed

Deputy Secretary of Commerce The Deputy Secretary of Commerce is a high-ranking position within the U.S. Department of Commerce. It was created on December 13, 1979, when President Jimmy Carter sent a letter to the U.S. Senate and nominated Luther H. Hodges Jr., who then cu ...

United States Department of Commerce officials

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

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