Press Release - President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts

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

J. Mark Burkhalter, of Georgia, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Norway.

Mr. Burkhalter is a Senior Advisor in the Public Policy and Regulation practice at Dentons U.S. LLP, and plays a significant role in Dentons' public affairs and economic development initiatives in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Burkhalter represented the Atlanta suburbs of north Fulton County in the Georgia General Assembly for 18 years, where he focused on promoting economic development, business growth, and quality of life in the greater metropolitan Atlanta area. He left office as the Speaker Emeritus, having served as Speaker of the House and Speaker Pro Tempore.

Parallel to his government service, Mr. Burkhalter built a successful career in real estate development. He received his B.A. at the University of Georgia with a double major in German and Slavic Languages, and Global Studies/Political Science. He is conversant in German.

William A. Douglass, of Florida, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

Mr. Douglass is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded K2 Advisors in 1994 and managed it for more than two decades. He sold K2 Advisors to Franklin Templeton Investments in 2012 after building its holdings from $5.4 million in 1994 to nearly $11 billion and remained a Senior Advisor and board member until 2017.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Douglass was Managing Director of Caspian Securities LLC. He also was a managing director for Tiedemann International Research for whom he first managed their office in Tokyo, Japan, and then co-managed their United States business in New York.

Mr. Douglass has served on multiple non-profit boards, including those of the Jazz Foundation of America, CitySquash, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Outward Bound USA.

Mr. Douglass received his B.A. degree from Vanderbilt University.

Eric J. Soskin, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Department of Transportation.

Mr. Soskin has served as Senior Trial Counsel for the United States Department of Justice in the Federal Programs Branch since 2006. He has spearheaded a multi-office defense of complex litigation across the Civil Division and has experience with a wide range of executive and legislative branch agencies and statutes. Mr. Soskin has also served as a Policy Counsel in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, where he supervised input on legislation and rulemaking, and in the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Soskin clerked on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for the Honorable Paul S. Diamond.

Mr. Soskin earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Political Economy, magna cum laude, from Williams College, and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He was the Submissions Editor for the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology and the Notes Editor for the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. Mr. Soskin is a recipient of the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service.