In recent days President-elect Donald Trump has announced a number of appointments to important positions inside his new administration. Notably, many of them have connections to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
On Monday Trump announced Mark Paoletta is back after serving in his first term as General Counsel of the Office of Management and Budget.
"Mark will work closely with our DOGE team to cut the size of our bloated Government bureaucracy, and root out wasteful and anti-American spending," Trump said about the appointment.
"Mark is a brilliant and tenacious lawyer, who worked tirelessly to advance my Agenda in the First Term. As OMB GC in my First Administration, Mark led the charge to identify funding to build the Southern Border Wall, and worked with then-OMB Director Russ Vought to rein in woke and weaponized Government spending. Mark is a partner at the Law Firm, Schaerr Jaffe, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Renewing America, where he has worked alongside Russ. Mark has served as a Chief Counsel for Oversight and Investigations in Congress for a decade, and was a key lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office to confirm Justice Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991," he continued.
Paoletta is a longtime ally and staunch defender of Thomas against leftist attacks in the media and on Capitol Hill.
Three great Americans - Justice Clarence Thomas, President Donald Trump, and First Lady Melania Trump at the Daytona 500 in 1999. Justice Thomas was serving as the Grand Marshal.
— Mark Paoletta (@MarkPaoletta) November 26, 2024
The Left has thrown everything at Justice Thomas and President Trump, including unprecedented… pic.twitter.com/qipk76lHSc
Andrew Ferguson, Trump's pick to be the next Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, is also connected to Justice Thomas.
"Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country. Sworn in as a Commissioner on April 2, 2024, he will be able to fight on behalf of the American People on Day One of my Administration," Trump said in a statement Tuesday night. "Andrew most recently served as Solicitor General of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Prior to Government service, he was an antitrust litigator at several Washington, D.C. law firms. He earned his undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of Virginia. Andrew also clerked for Judge Karen L. Henderson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas."
And over at the State Department Trump has nominated Christopher Landau, who clerked for Justice Thomas, to serve as Deputy Secretary of State.
"Chris will work closely with our great Secretary of State Nominee, Marco Rubio, to promote our Nation’s security and prosperity through an America First Foreign Policy. Chris served as my Ambassador to Mexico, where he worked tirelessly with our team to reduce illegal migration to the lowest levels in History," Trump said over the weekend. "He is also one of our Country’s great lawyers, and clerked for both Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas on the United States Supreme Court. He graduated from Harvard College, first in his Class, and Harvard Law School, and has argued nine cases in the U.S. Supreme Court."