CBP Office of Trade Relations Chief No Longer on the Job
George Bogden, the executive director of CBP's Office of Trade Relations, is no longer employed at the agency, the administration said April 24.
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DHS declined to say why he left, or if another person had been selected to replace him. CBP itself doesn't yet have a leader from outside the civil service, but Rodney Scott, the administration's selection to be CBP commissioner, will have a Senate confirmation hearing on April 30. Politico first reported on his resignation.
Bogden declined to comment.
Tom Gould, a Customs consultant who serves on CBP's Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, said he had met with Bogden through his service on COAC. "Very intelligent guy. He was good in the role," Gould said. He said he didn't know why Bogden was out, but said he had a "very short tenure."
There aren't many political appointees at CBP, he noted, and now, not having one at all in place "makes it challenging for CBP to really have the ear of the administration, to really communicate effectively with the administration."
E-Merchants Trade Council CEO Marianne Rowden said, "The trade community needs stability among political appointees at the trade agencies as trade professionals have to forge a working relationship on trade operations with the new tariff regime. Specifically, the Trade Summit is a key event for CBP, PGAs and trade professionals to discuss trade priorities set by the Administration -- so who is running the show in light of George Bogden’s resignation?"
Gould, too, noted that the Office of Trade Relations runs the annual CBP trade symposium, which had the word "facilitation" dropped from its title this year. That symposium begins May 6.
"I was actually thinking we would get someone like [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem and some other political [appointee] that would be there to address the audience," he said.
In past years, the acting head of CBP has been a keynote speaker, and one year, the DHS secretary addressed changes CBP was seeking to de minimis.