President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Michael J. Rigas, a Greek-American, as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.
Trump expressed his confidence in Rigas, stating on X, “I am pleased to nominate Michael J. Rigas for the position of Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. Michael will bring accountability to the State Department as he did Government wide, when he served in my First Term as the Deputy and Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management, and the Acting Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget.”
“Mike is a conservative warrior who knows how Government works, and will help Make America Great Again,” he added.
Rigas holds a Master’s in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from Boston University.
Throughout his career, Rigas has worked across both the public and private sectors, focusing on enhancing organizational performance and streamlining operations. His public service roles include Senior Advisor and Deputy Administrator at the General Services Administration (GSA) and Chief of Staff at the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services.
He also served as the Director of America First Transition Project at America First Policy Institute.
Time will tell. There is no question that there is too much bureaucracy in the US (not to mention Greece, where it is far worse), but most of these people know little to nothing about how to cut inefficiency, and where to cut it. My Rigas is different and knows his way around a Washington Department of This or Department of That, but too often these guys are too arrogant and simple-minded to be effective. We’ll see.