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President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration:

Alex A. Beehler of Maryland to be an Assistant Secretary of the Army, Energy, Installations, and Environment. Mr. Beehler currently serves as President of Alex A. Beehler & Co., LLC, an independent environmental and energy consulting services company. He is also a member of the U.S. Department of Interior’s Landscape Conservation Cooperative Network Council, and a visiting scholar of the Environment and Energy Management Institute at George Washington University. Previously, Mr. Beehler served as senior advisor at FaegreBD Consulting, and Executive Vice President of Plexus Logistics International. While with the Department of Defense, he served as Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, and Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense and Principal Deputy to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health. He is a graduate of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and the University of Virginia School of Law.

James E. McPherson of Virginia to be General Counsel, Department of the Army. Mr. McPherson most recently served as the executive director of the National Association of Attorneys General, one of the oldest legal associations in the country, where he leads the professional association of the state, territorial, and District of Columbia Attorneys General. Mr. McPherson previously served as the General Counsel of the Department of Defense Counterintelligence Field Activity. A retired Rear Admiral, Mr. McPherson’s final assignment was as the 39th Judge Advocate General of the Navy. He first gained military experience as an enlisted member of the United States Army, later being commissioned as an Ensign in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Mr. McPherson is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Meritorious Service Medal. He received his master of laws degree from the Judge Advocate General’s School of the Army, his juris doctor from the University of San Diego, School of Law, and his bachelors in public administration from San Diego State University.

Preston Rutledge of the District of Columbia to be an Assistant Secretary of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. Mr. Rutledge currently serves as senior tax and benefits counsel on the Majority Tax Staff of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee where his responsibilities include employee benefits, retirement issues, tax-exempt organizations, health tax issues, and the tax provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Prior to joining the Finance Committee, Mr. Rutledge served as a senior tax law specialist on the Headquarters Staff of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and as a senior technical reviewer in the Qualified Pension Plans Branch of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel. During his tenure there, he was the recipient of an Office of Chief Counsel National Award. Mr. Rutledge also served as a law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and worked in private law practice as an employee benefits counselor and ERISA litigator. Mr. Rutledge earned a B.S. in business, cum laude, from the University of Idaho; J.D., with high honors, from the George Washington University School of Law, and an L.L.M. – taxation, with distinction, including a certificate in employee benefits law, from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Kathleen Hartnett White of Texas to be a Member of the Council on Environmental Quality and upon confirmation designate Chair. Mrs. Kathleen Hartnett White currently serves as Distinguished Senior Fellow for energy & the environment at the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF). From 2001 to 2007, she was Chairwoman and Commissioner of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) – the second largest environmental regulatory agency in the world. Mrs. White also served as a Director of the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Texas Water Development Board, the Environmental Flows Advisory Group, the Texas Strategic Economic Development Planning Commission and the Texas Emissions Reduction Advisory Board. A leader and scholar in both environmental and energy matters, Mrs. White is a past recipient of the Texas Water Conservation Association’s President’s Award and the Colorado River Foundation’s friend of the river award. A native of Kansas, Mrs. White earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University, and currently resides with her husband, Beau, in rural Bastrop County, Texas.