Dr. Katie Dunn Tenpas

One year into this second Trump presidency, high level staff and Cabinet turnover is significantly lower than it was in 2017. "If you look at what is the core of the stability, it was the emphasis that they put on loyalty in hiring," says @kdtenpas. zurl.co/UKYk1

Staffing is one of the president’s most powerful tools, shaping how government works. @chris_piper and @kdtenpas argue that Trump’s second-term staffing reflects tighter planning and loyalty demands, while eroding long-standing guardrails. brookings.edu/articles/asses…

Around 1,340 presidential appointees require Senate confirmation—a process that has long meant time-consuming roll call votes. @chris_piper and @kdtenpas recommend that reform-minded senators reduce the number of jobs requiring confirmation. brookings.edu/articles/will-…

In early September, Majority Leader Thune and fellow Republicans triggered the nuclear option to speed up the Senate confirmation process. Will it work? Read this work by myself and @chris_piper : brookings.edu/articles/will-…

Trump’s confirmed executive branch nominees remain the least ethnically diverse in 25 years. The percentages are similar to his first term but differ sharply from those in the first 200 days of the Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations. Learn more: brookings.edu/articles/the-s…

Four months into Trump’s second term, Congress and the courts are navigating a wave of executive orders and sweeping agency changes. Join us on May 21 for a webinar on how U.S. institutions are responding—and where checks and balances stand. RSVP: brookings.edu/events/four-mo…

Trump did much better this time than his first term in getting top nominees confirmed in his first 100 days and in fact did better than Biden and Bush 43 did in the same timeframe as well, according to new data from @kdtenpas brookings.edu/articles/the-f…

President Trump’s second-term Cabinet confirmations outpaced three of the last four administrations, but diversity among nominees declined significantly, reflecting his broader rollback of DEI efforts. More from @kdtenpas: brookings.edu/articles/the-f…

The judiciary has long checked executive power, but Trump's policies pose a new challenge. On Democracy in Question, @kdtenpas and Ben Wittes explore key pending court cases along with the statutory/constitutional questions they raise. 🎧 Listen: brookings.edu/articles/is-it…

“What has happened in this administration, is that there is more of a focus on Cabinet secretary loyalty, as opposed to their prior experience.” Less than half of Trump's Cabinet members have degrees from elite institutions, discusses @kdtenpas. zurl.co/V8fXi

The Trump administration is asserting expansive executive power, challenging traditional constraints. On Democracy in Question, @kdtenpas and @S_R_Anders discuss how this breaks with modern presidential norms. 🎧 Listen here: brookings.edu/articles/do-er…

Our Embassy hosted a fireside chat yesterday with the Executive Council on Diplomacy @on_diplomacy to unpack the 2025 US presidential transition. Thank you @MichaelEOHanlon and @kdtenpas of the @BrookingsInst for sharing your insights with my fellow ambassadors and diplomats.

🎙️ Season 2 of Democracy in Question kicks off! On our first episode, host @kdtenpas explores the state of checks and balances and how America’s founding principles hold up today with @mollyereynolds and @bindersab. 🎧 Listen here: brookings.edu/articles/how-d…

Next Thursday, November 21, Brookings’ Katzmann Initiative and UVA’s Miller Center are tackling a hot topic—the presidential transition and staffing the presidency. Join us! brookings.edu/events/transit…

America’s democracy is resilient, but it can’t be taken for granted, says @kdtenpas on the latest episode of The Current. Listen at the link below or on your preferred podcast app. brookings.edu/articles/elect…

@BrookingsGov @BrookingsInst @IanPrasad @nytimes Note @Ian Prasad hyperlink to the Katzmann Initiative’s Courts Congress Index—a vital resource on the topic.

The next president could tip the balance in the federal judiciary. @BrookingsInst's Russell Wheeler tells @IanPrasad why in this @nytimes piece. nytimes.com/2024/10/31/bri…

In this week’s episode of #TransitionLab, @Kdtenpas, director of the Katzmann initiative and an advisory board member of the White House transition project, discusses the role of political appointees in the federal government and the pathway to getting these jobs. Listen here: presidentialtransition.org/podcast/how-do…

"As so often in other dimensions of American history, in our democracy the front line of defense is the American people," says @NormEisen in a new episode of Democracy in Question with @kdtenpas and @qjurecic. 🎧 Listen here: brookings.edu/articles/how-d…

The ultimate safeguard to dis-, mis-, & malinformation is the American people As so often in our history, citizens are the first line of defense for US democracy @kdtenpas & I discuss how to protect our democracy from corruption & foreign threats👇-TN brookings.edu/articles/how-d…