Just like the famously energetic Donald Trump seems to always be in two or three different places at once, several top members of the President’s staff have been pulling double duty and holding down multiple high-profile roles in the government throughout the start of Trump’s second term.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was the latest addition to the list in July, taking on the role of Interim NASA Administrator. “Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch,” Duffy wrote on X shortly after the announcement. Duffy will now take on the daunting task of leading America’s return to the Moon, which Trump has repeatedly emphasized as a top goal for the space agency.
While Duffy will certainly have his hands full in his two roles, former Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio undoubtedly holds the title of the busiest man in the administration. In addition to being Secretary of State, Rubio is also Trump’s interim National Security Advisor. Henry Kissinger famously juggled both of those roles as well for President Richard Nixon. Rubio is also the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump has worked to shutter, and acting National Archivist. Rubio’s many roles have sparked plenty of online jokes and memes, including one humorous suggestion earlier this year that the Catholic Rubio would be taking over as the next Pope.
Attorney Ed Martin, meanwhile, holds three titles at the Department of Justice – Associate Deputy Attorney General, Pardon Attorney, and Director of the Department of Justice Weaponization of Government Working Group. In those roles, Martin is primarily focusing on ending the weaponization of government against conservative Americans and rooting out Deep State corruption.
Some other high-profile double-duty Trump administration officials include Jamieson Greer, Dan Driscoll, Keith Sonderling, and David Richardson. Greer holds the Senate-confirmed post of U.S. Trade Representative, where he is spearheading the President’s tariff agenda, along with running the Office of Government Ethics and the Office of Special Counsel. Driscoll is Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, along with being Secretary of the Army. Sonderling was sworn in as Acting Director of the Institute for Museum and Library Services just eight days after the Senate confirmed him as Deputy Secretary of Labor. Richardson is the Acting FEMA Administrator, along with being an Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction.
This lean, no-nonsense approach is classic Trump: cut the bureaucracy, slash the fat, and get results. While past administrations bloated the federal government with overlapping roles and redundant departments, Trump’s team is proving that a smaller, more focused staff can move faster, work harder, and deliver more for the American people.
Jeff Szymanski works in political communications for AMAC Action. A former social studies teacher, he holds a master's degree in political science and writes often on politics and economics issues.
17 Comments