Two primary sources offer a clearer picture of the incoming administrations. These are transition statements, not enacted policy or completed appointments.
Sand’s approach to agency leadership
On the November 6 edition of Iowa PBS’s Iowa Press, Governor-elect Rob Sand said he was not planning to seek agency directors’ resignations, except at the departments of Education and Management. He described conversations with existing leaders rather than an assurance that every other director would remain.
Sand said former Iowa budget director Randy Bauer was helping prepare budget work; he did not announce Bauer as his new budget director. He also identified data-center taxes, infrastructure costs, setbacks and restrictions on local officials’ nondisclosure agreements as legislative priorities. Those remain proposals requiring agreement, not new rules already in effect. Read the full interview and transcript.
Willems invites résumés
Attorney General-elect Nate Willems’s official website invites people interested in serving in his administration to submit résumés. It expressly says a submission guarantees neither employment nor consideration for a particular position. The notice does not establish a specific vacancy or application deadline.
Source note: Both pages were reviewed November 8, 2026. The PBS episode is dated November 6; the Willems notice displays no publication date, so November 8 is our review date, not a claimed launch date. Existing officeholders continue to serve during the transition. Earlier reporting: Sand’s transition co-directors and public participation website.