On his way out of office, Trump appoints Conway, Chao to government positions

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he would appoint former White House aide Kellyanne Conway to the board of visitors of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

The president also announced the nominations of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Lynn Friess, the wife of Republican megadonor Foster Friess, as members of the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, would be named to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board, Trump said.

The news came in a list provided by the White House of more than two dozen intended appointments to “key administration posts” — consisting mostly of seats on panels including the National Cancer Advisory Board, Puerto Rico’s Financial Oversight and Management Board, the Community Development Advisory Board, and others.

Conway, who served as counselor to the president from the outset of the administration until her resignation in August, was the most prominent name on that list. She most recently acted as an adviser to Trump’s 2020 campaign.

Trump rolled out a similarly lengthy roster of appointments last week. He said he would name Pamella DeVos, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ sister-in-law, to the Kennedy Center board of trustees, and Brian Hook, the former U.S. special representative for Iran, to the board of trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.