President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key positions in his Administration:
Christopher Paul Henzel of Virginia, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Yemen.
Mr. Henzel, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, has served as an American diplomat since 1985. He is currently Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a position he has held since 2016. Previously, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Manama, Bahrain, from 2007 to 2010 and led the Ninewa Province Reconstruction Team in Mosul, Iraq, from 2010 to 2011. Mr. Henzel has served at eight United States missions overseas, many in the Near East, as well as in senior leadership positions at the United States Department of State working on Near East issues. He earned a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross and an M.S. from the National War College. Mr. Henzel is the recipient of 10 notable State Department awards, as well as the United States Army’s Superior Civilian Service Award. He speaks Arabic, Spanish, and German.
Manuel Padilla, Jr., of Texas, to be the Director of the Joint Task Force West, Department of Homeland Security.
Chief Padilla currently serves as the Chief of the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector and the Commander of the Joint Task Force – West, South Texas Corridor. He entered on duty on August 12, 1986, and his first assignment was at the Sierra Blanca Station in Texas. In August 1990, he became a member of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC), eventually providing instruction on tactical procedures to host country police forces in Bolivia, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Chief Padilla has held a number of key leadership positions, including chief patrol agent and deputy chief patrol agent of the Tucson Sector and New Orleans Sector and associate chief of the Office of Border Patrol, Washington D.C. He was the patrol agent in charge, Ysleta Station, El Paso Sector; assistant patrol agent in charge, Deming Station, El Paso Sector; patrol agent in charge, Presidio Station, Marfa Sector; field operations supervisor, BORTAC, El Paso, Texas; and border patrol agent canine handler. Chief Padilla is a graduate of the CBP Senior Executive Candidate Development Program. Prior to joining the Border Patrol, he served in the United States Army for two years.
