Trump Nominates Matt Zandi to an EEOC Seat Left Open by a Democrat’s Firing

The White House announced late on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, that President Donald Trump has nominated Matt Zandi, chief of staff in the Justice Department’s civil rights division, to a seat on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the Associated Press.

The seat was previously held by Jocelyn Samuels, one of two Democratic commissioners Trump fired before their terms ended. If the Senate confirms him, Zandi would serve a five-year term ending July 1, 2031.

What the nomination changes at the commission

The EEOC currently has three commissioners, according to AP. Andrea Lucas is chair, and Brittany Panuccio is the other Republican. Kalpana Kotagal is the one Democrat, and her term expires next year.

AP reports that Zandi’s confirmation would shift the commission further to the right.

A fifth seat, left open when Trump fired Democrat Charlotte Burrows, has no nominee. AP reports that the administration has not named anyone for it.

Trump removed Samuels and Burrows before their terms ended, a step AP describes as unprecedented. The Supreme Court has since upheld the president’s decision to fire the heads of several independent agencies, which AP says significantly expanded presidential power. Samuels dropped her lawsuit challenging her dismissal as a result.

Seat and term
Zandi would fill the EEOC seat formerly held by Jocelyn Samuels, for a five-year term ending July 1, 2031, according to the Associated Press.

The agenda Zandi would join

The EEOC enforces federal workplace discrimination law. AP reports that the agency is preparing to end a 60-year-old requirement that many employers collect demographic data on their workforces.

It is also revising its enforcement rules for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. According to AP, Lucas has said the law improperly extended protections to workers seeking abortions, birth control or fertility treatments.

AP reports that under Lucas the commission has enforced Trump’s civil rights priorities, often in close cooperation with the Justice Department. Lucas and Panuccio were both confirmed despite unanimous Democratic opposition.

Who Zandi is and what has been said

AP describes Zandi as chief of staff for the Justice Department’s civil rights division. The division has seen many career lawyers leave as it shifted toward investigating employers and schools over what it considers unlawful diversity and transgender policies, AP reports. AP also notes that, according to his LinkedIn page, Zandi has extensive False Claims Act litigation experience.

The National Women’s Law Center says Zandi was most recently chief of staff to Harmeet Dhillon, whom it describes as the division’s former head. It says he was her second-in-command and helped lead cases against diversity, equity and inclusion programs, including investigations of federal fund recipients. The group says more than three-quarters of the division’s workforce left during Dhillon’s tenure.

AP reports that the administration has used False Claims Act cases against government contractors, including IBM and Lockheed Martin, over allegedly illegal diversity practices.

Lauren Khouri, the center’s senior director of workplace equality, said the nomination seeks to give Lucas “total power” to carry out what she called a “radical anti-worker agenda.” The EEOC had no comment, and the Justice Department did not reply to a request for comment from Zandi, according to AP.

Gene Hamilton, president of America First Legal, said the group is optimistic about the nomination, according to the WSB-TV version of the AP report. The group, which Stephen Miller founded, has filed many EEOC complaints about corporate diversity programs.

The commission currently has two Republicans and one Democrat, and the fifth seat, left open when Charlotte Burrows was fired, has no nominee.

The Senate and the general counsel hearing

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, criticized the pick at a Tuesday hearing on Catherine Eschbach’s nomination as EEOC general counsel. She said the custom for a bipartisan commission is to pair nominees from both parties, and that this would be the third Republican commissioner in a row without a pairing.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, praised Eschbach at the hearing. He said that under this administration the EEOC has sharpened its focus on “even-handed enforcement” of employment discrimination laws.

Republicans control the Senate now, and Democrats take the majority in January. AP reports that leading Democratic senators have vowed not to confirm any of Trump’s EEOC nominees, and that the commission may not have five members for the rest of Trump’s term. AP also reports that Zandi and Eschbach are likely to be confirmed while Republicans hold the majority.