Gavin Wax

Last updated

Chelsea Hall
​
(m. 2024)​
Gavin Wax
Gavin Wax, official FCC portrait.jpg
Official portrait, 2025
President of the New York Young Republican Club
In office
April 2019 –April 2025
Children1

Gavin Mario Wax (born December 1993) is an American political operative who has served as the chief of staff to Darren Beattie, the acting under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, since August 2025. Wax served as the chief of staff to Federal Communications Commission commissioner Nathan Simington from April to June 2025 and as president of the New York Young Republican Club from 2019 to 2025.

Contents

Early life and education (1993–2017)

Gavin Mario Wax [1] was born in December 1993. [2] He is of Jewish descent [1] and his grandmother, Pina Frassineti, along with her mother and brother, evaded Nazis in World War II by posing as Italian nuns for two years. Frassineti's grandfather was killed at Auschwitz concentration camp; other relatives were killed at Dachau. Frassineti moved from Rome to New York City near the end of the war. [3]

Career

Early political involvement (2017–2019)

By November 2016, Wax had served as editor-in-chief of Liberty Conservative, [4] and by March 2017, Wax was a member of the Metropolitan Republican Club. [5]

In October 2018, Wax attended an event hosted by Gavin McInnes, founder of the neo-fascist Proud Boys. Following an altercation at the event between the Proud Boys and left-wing protesters, Wax wrote an editorial for the American Thinker suggesting the Proud Boys had unfairly been tarred as extremist, saying that McInnes "just runs a patriotic fraternal group who like America and beer... We are all Proud Boys now." He further decried "leftist terrorist" attacks on conservatives. [6] [7]

New York Young Republican Club and marketing work (2019–2025)

In 2019, Wax was elected president of the New York Young Republican Club. He marked his tenure with a sharp shift towards Trumpism; the organization was the first charter of Young Republicans to endorse Donald Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign. [8] In 2020, Wax began hosting a podcast named "NYYRC Live", his first guest was far-right British commentator Katie Hopkins. Wax also appeared on a podcast, hosted by John Derbyshire, which was affiliated with white nationalist organization VDare. [6]

In 2022, Gavin Wax spoke at a "Western Renewal" summit in Hungary, a conference hosted by CPAC. Numerous xenophobic far-right European political parties participated in the event. Wax is a member of Republicans for National Renewal, which helped organize the summit. [6] In December 2022, Wax spoke at the annual gala of the NYYRC, in which members of VDARE and other far-right figures were in attendance, including Jack Posobiec and Steve Bannon. [9]

Wax worked for Gettr's marketing department. [10] In 2024, he married Chelsea Hall, the former communications chair of the NYYRC. [11] Wax resigned from the presidency of the NYYRC in April 2025 to spend more time with his wife his and six-month-old child. He was succeeded by Stefano Forte. [12]

Trump administration positions and group chat leak (2025–present)

In April 2025, Wax became the chief of staff to Federal Communications Commission commissioner Nathan Simington. [7] After Simington resigned in June, Wax became the chief of staff to Darren Beattie, the acting under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, in August. [13]

Peter Giunta, the president of the New York State Young Republicans, faced criticism over a deposit for a party held at the National Women's Republican Club in December 2023; Giunta later resigned and blamed the ire of the club on his criticism of Wax. [14] In October, Politico obtained thousands of messages from leaders of Young Republican charters. Michael Bartels, a senior advisor in the Office of the General Counsel for the Small Business Administration, claimed in a notarized affidavit that Wax had provided the messages to Politico, an assertion corroborated by Giunta. [15]

Views

Advocacy

Wax speaking at CPAC Hungary in 2023 Gavin Wax (5).jpg
Wax speaking at CPAC Hungary in 2023

In June 2020, Wax publicly defended Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt amid a wave of removals of offensive statues following the murder of George Floyd. [16] At CPAC Hungary in 2022, he disavowed military assistance sent to Ukraine and the "nonstop media propaganda pushing for World War III". [17]

Political support

In January 2022, Wax criticized Donald Trump's endorsements of Morgan Ortagus and Greg Abbott. [18] In September, Wax donated $500 to George Santos' joint fundraising committee; Santos personally called Wax after reports that he had embellished his biography. [19] Prior to the Chinese businessman Guo Wengui's indictment, Wax defended Wengui. [10]

References

  1. 1 2 Weisman 2022.
  2. ↑ Gavin M Wax in the U.S., Index to Public Records, 1994-2019.
  3. ↑ Asbury 2025.
  4. ↑ Barrett 2016.
  5. ↑ Vilensky & Gay 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 "Young Right-Wing Americans Forging Ties with European Ethno-Nationalists". Anti-Defamation League . June 6, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Mencimer 2025.
  8. ↑ Freedlander 2023.
  9. ↑ "White Nationalists, Other Republicans Brace for 'Total War'". Southern Poverty Law Center . December 11, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Friedman 2023.
  11. ↑ Coltin, Reisman & Ngo 2024.
  12. ↑ Krichevsky 2025.
  13. ↑ "Former Commissioner Prospect Wax Joins State Department". Export Compliance Daily.
  14. ↑ Beeferman 2025.
  15. ↑ Beeferman & Ngo 2025.
  16. ↑ Small 2020.
  17. ↑ Higgins & Novak 2022.
  18. ↑ Goldmacher 2022.
  19. ↑ Przybyla, Marsh & Piper 2023.

Works cited

Articles

Documents

  • "Gavin M Wax in the U.S., Index to Public Records, 1994-2019" (Document). Index to Public Records.
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