Aguilar, Winkowski Titles Shuffled at CBP

The top two CBP officials, David Aguilar and Thomas Winkowski, received new titles to remain in compliance with federal statute, said a CBP official. Aguilar, previously acting commissioner, is now deputy commissioner and Winkowski, previously acting deputy commissioner, is now chief operating officer. The official descriptions of both men were updated Sept. 10 to reflect the title change. Aguilar's bio (here) now says he "served as acting commissioner Dec. 30, 2011-August 29, 2012," while Winkowski's (here) says he served during the same period as acting deputy commissioner.

"In order to comply with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, David V. Aguilar reverted to his technical title of Deputy Commissioner," said a CBP spokesman. "He remains the agency's most senior official and exercises the same authorities and responsibilities as he did while serving as acting commissioner. Thomas S. Winkowski, who had been serving as acting deputy commissioner, also has been named acting chief operating officer for the agency. Acting Chief Operating Officer Winkowski is the agency's senior official responsible for leading agency performance and management efforts, fundamentally the same duties he has performed as acting deputy commissioner. CBP’s mission, priorities and leadership team remain unchanged, and the new designations are not expected to affect CBP’s daily operations."

The Federal Vacancies Reform Act limits the amount of time government positions requiring presidential appointment and Senate confirmation can be temporarily filled. Aguilar was named acting commissioner after the term for Commissioner Alan Bersin's recess appointment expired.