Current U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Chief Administrative Officer Anne Mendez has reportedly been appointed Acting Deputy Director of the USPTO, following Coke Morgan Stewart’s announcement this week that she will be leaving her post early. Mendez was at the helm during the highly controversial April 14, 2025 “Notice for Return to Office of Probationary Patent Examiners,” which was sent to probationary patent and trademark examiners and informed them that all “probationary Patent Examiners . She was promoted to Deputy Chief Administrative Officer in 2020 before becoming first Acting Chief Administrative Officer and then Chief Administrative Officer. According to Bloomberg News, she will step into the Acting Deputy Director role as of Sunday, August 2. Stewart was named Acting USPTO Director by President Donald Trump and sworn in on January 20, 2025.