Trump nominates DOJ official to EEOC seat vacated by fired Democrat

President Donald Trump has nominated Justice Department Civil Rights Division chief of staff Matt Zandi to fill the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seat vacated when Trump fired Democratic commissioner Jocelyn Samuels before her term ended. If confirmed, Zandi would give Republicans three of the commission’s four occupied seats, strengthening Chair Andrea Lucas’s ability to advance the administration’s workplace civil rights agenda, including its efforts to challenge diversity policies it considers unlawful. The nomination has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers and the National Women’s Law Center, which argue that Trump’s firings and choice of Zandi threaten the EEOC’s independence and workplace equality. Senate opposition could delay or block confirmation, leaving the commission’s balance unsettled.