undersecretary

Mr Reinsch, who was also undersecretary of commerce for export administration in the 1990s during President Bill Clinton's administration, said that Bessent's approach, so far, has been "a classic way to deal with Trump".

Elbridge Colby, Trump’s nominee to be undersecretary of Defense for policy, recently reiterated the call for Taiwan to increase its defense spending in a confirmation hearing.

"No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command," an email from Tibor Nagy, acting undersecretary for management, said.

Edgar, an IBM executive, previously served in Trump’s first term as chief financial officer and as associate deputy undersecretary of management for Homeland Security.

After their arrest, Nicholas Felix Ty, undersecretary in the Philippines Department of Justice, said it was the women themselves who were "victims of human trafficking".