USITC Enters New Leadership Era with Doyle as Chairman

A change in the leadership of the U.S. International Trade Commission is now underway. Following the Senate’s confirmation of five nominees on July 16, 2026, Brett Doyle has been selected to lead the agency as its new Chairman.

Doyle’s appointment to the leadership position came shortly after he formally joined the Commission. He took office as a commissioner on July 17, one day after receiving Senate confirmation, and President Donald J. Trump selected him as Chairman on July 20. His chairmanship is scheduled to continue until June 16, 2028, while his service as a commissioner is set to run through December 16, 2030.

The change also concludes a brief period of interim leadership. David S. Johanson had been performing the duties of Chairman under the Commission’s succession rules after Amy A. Karpel’s term in that role ended on June 16, 2026.

Five Confirmations Reshape the Commission

Doyle was one of five USITC nominees approved by the Senate on July 16. The Senate also confirmed David Foley, Jr., Samuel Negatu, Peter-Anthony Pappas, and Bartholomew Thanhauser.

The group of confirmations represents an unusually broad change in the makeup of the six-member Commission. As the newly confirmed members take office, the agency is positioned to return to full membership with a substantially different group of commissioners than it had only weeks earlier.

Doyle will therefore begin his tenure as Chairman while the Commission is simultaneously integrating several new members. The appointment places him at the center of an institutional transition rather than a routine change in leadership.

Background in Trade and Government Relations

Doyle arrives at the Commission after serving as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Congressional Affairs. His responsibilities in that position included managing USTR’s interactions with Congress on trade negotiations, proposed legislation, tariffs, and enforcement issues.

His career has also included government service at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and in the U.S. Senate. Outside the federal government, Doyle worked in senior government-relations positions at Sylvamo and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

He attended Lafayette College and the U.S. Naval War College.

Doyle’s professional background combines trade policy experience with congressional and government-affairs work. That experience will provide the backdrop for his leadership of a Commission whose membership has been almost entirely reconstituted.

The coming months will offer the first indication of how the new group of commissioners approaches its work collectively and how Doyle manages the administrative responsibilities of the chairmanship during the transition.