Ja'Ron Smith | |
---|---|
Deputy Director of the Office of American Innovation | |
In office April 2019 –November 6, 2020 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Director | Jared Kushner |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] [2] Cleveland,Ohio,U.S. | July 29,1982
Political party | Republican |
Education | Howard University (BBA,MDiv) |
Ja'Ron K. Smith (born July 29,1982) is an American political advisor. He served as a Deputy Assistant to the President and deputy director of the Office of American Innovation for Donald Trump from April 2019 to November 2020. [3] [4] Smith had previously served in the administration as a Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs from June 2018 to April 2019 and Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy from February to June 2018. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] He also served as the director of urban affairs and revitalization from the beginning of the Trump administration in January 2017. [10]
Smith is a native of Cleveland,Ohio. [11] [12] Smith's father worked in the construction industry during summers and as a snow-plower in the winters. Smith's mother was addicted to crack cocaine and left the family for three years before eventually getting off the drug and returning to work at a gas station.[ citation needed ]
Smith attended the Immaculate Conception School before being offered a football scholarship from St. Peter Chanel High School in Bedford,Ohio. During his high school football career,Smith was teammates with Bam Childress and Steve Cargile. Smith says he was recruited to play football by John Carroll University,but instead attended Howard University,studying Finance and Economics. [13] Smith then earned a Master of Divinity from the Howard University Divinity School.[ citation needed ]
While in college,Smith worked as an intern for Congressman J. C. Watts. Smith also worked for South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and then-U.S. Rep. Mike Pence.[ citation needed ]
In August 2018,Smith's role in the White House was highlighted during questioning of Kellyanne Conway by Jonathan Karl on ABC's This Week regarding the number of Black people that the Trump administration has in senior roles. [14] It emerged that Smith was the highest-ranking Black aide in the White House Office. [15] CNN ran a profile piece on Smith later that week. [16]
On November 6,2020,Smith announced in a statement posted on Twitter that he had left his post following the 2020 United States presidential election. [17] [18] [19]
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government,part of the Executive Office of the President (EOP),established by United States Congress on May 11,1976,with a broad mandate to advise the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.
Counselor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States and senior members of the White House Office.
Kellyanne Elizabeth Conway is an American political consultant and pollster who served as Senior Counselor to the President in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2020. She was previously Trump's campaign manager,having been appointed in August 2016;Conway is the first woman to have run a successful U.S. presidential campaign. She has previously held roles as campaign manager and strategist in the Republican Party and was formerly president and CEO of the Polling Company/WomanTrend.
The National Space Council is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States created in 1989 during the George H. W. Bush administration,disbanded in 1993,and reestablished in June 2017 by the Donald Trump administration. It is a modified version of the earlier National Aeronautics and Space Council (1958–1973).
Senior Advisor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States. White House senior advisors are senior members of the White House Office. The title has been formally used since 1993.
This is a list of political appointments of current officeholders made by the 45th president of the United States,Donald Trump.
Madeleine Elise Westerhout is the former Director of Oval Office Operations at the White House from February to August 2019. Prior to that,from 2017 to 2019,she served as the Personal Secretary to U.S. President Donald Trump. She was fired on August 29,2019,after Trump learned she had shared details of the Trump family and Oval Office operations with reporters during an off the record dinner earlier that month.
The Office of American Innovation (OAI) was an office within the White House Office that existed from 2017 until 2021 during the Trump administration. Under Jared Kushner,The office's purpose was to be the White House's main point of contact for the American tech industry as part of an effort to reform the federal bureaucracy by applying lessons from the business world.
Gregory George Katsas is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2017 as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Before becoming a federal judge,Katsas served as Deputy White House Counsel to President Donald Trump,as an Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice,and as a partner at the law firm Jones Day.
Derek S. Lyons is an American attorney and former White House Staff Secretary and Counselor to the President in the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Michael John Kotsakas Kratsios is an American business executive and government official. He served as the fourth Chief Technology Officer of the United States at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In this role,Kratsios served as President Donald Trump's top technology advisor. From July 10,2020 to January 20,2021,Kratsios was also the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
Kelvin Kay Droegemeier is an American research meteorologist,most recently having served as Director of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Droegemeier is known for his research in predicting the development of extreme weather events,and previously served as Oklahoma Secretary of Science and Technology and the Vice President for Research at the University of Oklahoma. He currently is serving as a Professor and Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Science and Policy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Donald Trump during the third quarter of 2019,from July 1 to September 30,2019. To navigate quarters,see timeline of the Donald Trump presidency.
Joel Szabat is a former American government official and military officer serving on the Amtrak Board of Directors since 2024. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs.
The core White House staff appointments,and most Executive Office of the President officials generally,are not required to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate,with a handful of exceptions. There are about 4,000 positions in the Executive Office of the President.
Joseph Grogan is the former director of the United States Domestic Policy Council and assistant to President Donald Trump. Appointed by Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney,Grogan converted the traditionally small office into an influential policy council.