Obama appoints Gabby Douglas, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, transgender figures and more to administration positions hours before leaving office

With only hours to go until he leaves the White House and loses his executive authority for good, President Barack Obama appointed a slew of sports stars, longtime advisers and other figures to dozens of administration positions on Monday and Tuesday.

The president is rushing to fill dozens of federal vacancies before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Friday.

The White House announced the appointments in a pair of press releases published on Monday and Tuesday. Athletes including gymnast Gabby Douglas, basketball players Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Jason Collins, and soccer star Carli Lloyd were appointed as members of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. Collins, who made history four years ago when he became the first openly gay player in the NBA, and Lloyd are slotted to chair the council.

SEE ALSO: All the lawmakers planning to boycott Trump's inauguration

Obama also appointed two longtime administration insiders, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and National Security Advisor Susan Rice, to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Marjorie Margolies, a former U.S. congresswoman from Pennsylvania who is Chelsea Clinton's mother-in-law, also received an appointment as a member of the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad.

RELATED: Obama surprises Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Two of the president's appointments will require Senate approval, including Todd Phillip Haskell, nominated to serve as Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo and Jason E. Kearns, appointed to served on the International Trade Commission.

Obama also appointed two transgender officials to serve in the administration. Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, a current White House LGBT liaison, was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and Shawn Skelly, a Navy veteran, to the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service.

See the full list of appointees selected by Obama on Monday and Tuesday:

Todd Phillip Haskell – Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, Department of State
Jason E. Kearns – Member, U.S. International Trade Commission
Adrienne Harris – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
Behnaz Kibria – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
Jason Miller – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
Brady Deaton – Member, Board for International Food and Agricultural Development
Erica Schwartz – Member, Board of Visitors to the United States Merchant Marine Academy
Marjorie Margolies – Member, Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad
Lesley Weiss – Member, Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad
Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes – Member, Board of Trustees of the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Cultural and Arts Development
Lawrence Roberts – Member, Board of Trustees of the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Cultural and Arts Development
Cristin Dorgelo – Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
Christy Goldfuss – Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
DJ Patil – Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
Amy Pope – Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
Dan Utech – Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
Janine Davidson – Member, National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service
Avril Haines – Member, National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service
Shawn Skelly – Member, National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service
Daniel Benjamin – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Michael Bosworth – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Samuel Gordon – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Allan Holt – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Sarah Hurwitz – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Edward Lazarus – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Susan Lowenberg – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Melissa Rogers – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Maureen Schulman – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Anita Fineday – Member, Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children
Russ McDonald – Member, Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children
Valerie Jarrett – General Trustee, Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Susan Rice – General Trustee, Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Linda Smith – Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences
Carole Johnson – Member, National Cancer Advisory Board
Suzy George – Member, National Security Education Board
Jason Collins – Member and Co-Chair, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Carli Lloyd – Member and Co-Chair, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Member, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Paulette Aniskoff – Member, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Caitlin Cahow – Member, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Pamela Coleman – Member, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Chase Cushman – Member, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Gabrielle Douglas – Member, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Debra Eschmeyer – Member, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Tara McGuinness – Member, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Ibtihaj Muhammad – Member, President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
Robert Carrigan – Member, President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
Senator Angus King – Member, Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission
Benjamin Rhodes – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Shannon O'Neil – Member, Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission
Daniel Restrepo – Member, Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission
Kristie Canegallo – Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
Christopher Fonzone – Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
Maneesh Goyal – Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
Rudy Mehrbani – Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
Natalie Quillian – Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
Roberto Rodriguez – Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board