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.
Education
Lyons was a student of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory,[1] from which he graduated in 2000. He went to Duke University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in 2004.[2]
In June 2007, Lyons was a student of Harvard Law School and worked as a Summer Associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Lyons graduated with a Juris Doctor in 2008.[2][3]
Career
In 2007 Lyons was admitted to the State Bar of Texas and the Bars of the District of Columbia and Federal Circuit in 2010.[4] He started his professional career as a law clerk to Brett Kavanaugh, a former judge serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and current Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and a former White House Staff Secretary.[citation needed]
After his clerkship, he worked for Representative Jeb Hensarling as a legislative assistant. He then moved to the private sector, working as a senior litigation assistant for the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.[5] His practice was mainly related to federal regulatory policy.[6]
In May 2014, he went back to Capitol Hill, becoming General Counsel in the office of Senator Rob Portman.[7] In this role, he accompanied Senator Portman to meetings of the Subcommittee on Investigations for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.[8]
Lyons worked for the Jeb Bush 2016 presidential campaign.[9] In February 2016, he joined the law firm Boyden Gray & Associates.[10]
From January 2017 to February 2018, Lyons worked at the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary.[11]
After the sudden departure of Rob Porter in February 2018, Lyons was promoted to acting White House Staff Secretary. In June he was formally appointed to the role on a permanent basis.[12] Lyons oversaw, together with the White House Chief of Staff, the flow of information to the President.[13]
In May 2020, Lyons was slated to serve as the Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council, but Lyons' appointment was derailed after influential "America First" conservatives voiced opposition due to his previous position with Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential bid and his consideration was withdrawn. Instead, he was promoted to the position of Counselor to the President, alongside Hope Hicks and Kellyanne Conway.[14]
References
- ^ "The Chronicle of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory". issuu. October 25, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ a b "Derek Lyons, Associate Attorney Attorney". LawyersDB. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ "How chatter and conservative anger upended a White House staffing search". POLITICO. May 17, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ "Derek S. Lyons". Martindale. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ "Supreme Court of the United States" (PDF). American Bar Association. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ "Portman Announces Derek Lyons as New General Counsel". HighBeam Research. March 24, 2014. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ "Portman Announces Derek Lyons as New General Counsel". Rob Portman. March 24, 2014. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ "Hearings" (PDF). United States Government Publishing Office. November 20, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ Kumar, Anita; Lippman, Daniel (May 6, 2020). "Trump taps acting domestic policy chief". Politico. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ "The redirection of reinsurance tax dollars under the Affordable Care Act". American Enterprise Institute. July 1, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ "Annual Report to Congress on White House Office Personnel" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. June 30, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2018 – via National Archives.
- ^ "Rob Porter warned White House counsel in January 2017 about his background check". CBS Interactive. February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ "White House taps interim replacement for aide accused of abuse". The Hill. February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ "How chatter and conservative anger upended a White House staffing search". POLITICO. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
