Vice President-elect Mike Pence has appointed Ken Nahigian to replace Rick Dearborn as executive director of the Trump-Pence presidential transition, the transition team said in a press release on Wednesday.
Nahigian, who served as the head of strategic planning and support for President-elect Donald Trump, will now support Trump’s nominees through their confirmation hearings.
“In the days following the election, [Nahigian’s] role evolved to not only manage President-elect support, but also prepare our great cabinet designees for their hearings,” Dearborn was quoted as saying in the release. “The transition is in capable hands with Ken Nahigian, who has tirelessly supported it from day one and will carry it through the finish line.”
“Ken has been a tremendous and critical asset to the Transition,” said Mr. Dearborn. “In the days following the election, his role evolved to not only manage President-elect support but also prepare our great cabinet designees for their hearings. The Transition is in capable hands with Ken Nahigian, who has tirelessly supported it from day one and will carry it through the finish line.”
Throughout the pre-election and Transition periods, Mr. Nahigian served as the head of President-elect support, the body that oversees all strategic planning and support to the President-elect, Vice President-elect, their families, and nominees, where pre-planning is critical to ensure a strong foundation is built for a successful transition minutes after the election is called. In this role, Mr. Nahigian and his team led the organization of critical functionality of the Transition pre-election, which included the creation of GreatAgain.gov, the structuring of a communications strategy post-election, the building of the resources infrastructure to be ready on day one, and creation of a network for public engagement during the Transition period.
“I’m honored that the President-elect, Vice President-elect and Rick Dearborn have entrusted me with this responsibility and it is my honor to continue my service to this new administration,” said Mr. Nahigian. “It has been a tremendous honor to be part of this historic and successful process of building our government.”
While not working on the Presidential Transition, Mr. Nahigian serves as a principal in a 17-year old public relations and communications planning and strategy firm.
Dearborn is leaving the post to assume his role as White House deputy chief of staff.
Trump’s inauguration will be held January 20 in Washington, DC, in front of the Capitol, the seat of the US Congress.