The State Department announced that R. Clarke Cooper was confirmed April 30 in the Senate as the assistant secretary for Political Military Affairs, in a May 2 notice. Cooper previously served as director of intelligence planning for Joint Special Operations Command’s Joint Inter-Agency Task Force -- National Capital Region, State said, and was a George W. Bush administration U.S. alternate representative to the United Nations Security Council. The White House advanced the nomination to the Senate, for a second time, in January.

The Plastics Industry Association added Bradley Hoppe, previously a marketing specialist in export finance at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service's Office of Trade Programs, as director of global packaging regulations, the group said in a news release. Hoppe will "lead the association’s regulatory and advocacy programs and projects that relate to the safety of plastic packaging," it said.

Clete Willems, former deputy director of the National Economic Council who represented the U.S. during China trade talks this year, will join Akin Gump as a partner in June, the firm announced April 25. “The trade landscape has rarely been as important to companies around the world as it is now, and Clete will be an invaluable resource for clients seeking to navigate this terrain,” said Brian Pomper, co-head of Akin Gump’s public law and policy practice.

Daniel Feldman, previously with Akin Gump, joined the Covington & Burling Global Problem Solving group, the law firm said in a news release. Feldman's practice includes "advising on global political risks, corporate social responsibility and sustainability matters, and compliance with U.S. law and international best practices on global policy concerns, including sanctions and anti-corruption efforts," it said. He was a special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the State Department before joining the private sector.

Skadden Arps partner Joseph Barloon will become general counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, after current general counsel Stephen Vaughn departs in a few weeks, USTR announced April 22.

CBP Chief Operating Officer John Sanders will take over as CBP commissioner in an acting capacity while CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan is the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, DHS said in a news release.

The White House announced on the evening of April 11 that it is nominating Nazak Nikakhtar, the current assistant secretary of Commerce for industry and analysis, to be under secretary of Commerce for industry and security.

Kevin McAleenan assumed the role of acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on April 10, DHS said in an April 10 news release. On April 11, McAleenan said Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator David Pekoske was designated "senior official performing the duties of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary." DHS has not said who will take over for McAleenan as CBP commissioner.

Jon Yormick, an international trade lawyer who previously operated his own firm, joined Phillips Lytle as special counsel and will lead the law firm's new office in Cleveland, Ohio, the firm said in a news release.

Michael Roberts, previously general counsel at Crowley Maritime Corp., was named the company's senior vice president for government relations, Crowley said in a news release. "The move will enhance the company’s presence in Washington to better address the important policy and regulatory issues affecting the maritime and logistics industry, and to increase support for the company’s fast-growing work on behalf of the federal government," the company said. Parker Harrison, previously senior vice president of procurement and risk management, will become general counsel, the company said.