Derek S. Lyons is an American attorney and former White House Staff Secretary and

Counselor to the President Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dip ...

in the administration of former U.S. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

Education

Lyons was a student of

Strake Jesuit College Preparatory Strake Jesuit College Preparatory (properly referred to as Strake Jesuit or Jesuit but often informally called Strake by students and alumni) is a Jesuit, college-preparatory school for boys, grades 9–12, in the Chinatown area and in the Greate ...

, from which he graduated in 2000. He went to Duke University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in 2004. In June 2007, Lyons was a student of Harvard Law School and worked as a Summer Associate at

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm includes approximately 1,400 attorneys and 1,000 staff located in 20 offices around the world, including North ...

. Lyons graduated with a Juris Doctor in 2008.

Career

In 2007 Lyons was admitted to the State Bar of Texas and the Bars of the District of Columbia and

Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

in 2010. He started his professional career as a law clerk to

Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since ...

, a former judge serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and current

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

and a former White House Staff Secretary. After his clerkship, he worked for

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

Jeb Hensarling as a legislative assistant. He then moved to the private sector, working as a senior litigation assistant for the law firm

. His practice was mainly related to federal regulatory policy. In May 2014, he went back to Capitol Hill, becoming

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

in the office of Senator Rob Portman. In this role, he accompanied Senator Portman to meetings of the Subcommittee on Investigations for the

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is the chief oversight committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to the Department of Homeland Security and other homeland s ...

. Lyons worked for the

Jeb Bush 2016 presidential campaign The 2016 presidential campaign of Jeb Bush, the 43rd Governor of Florida, was formally launched on June 15, 2015, coming six months after announcing the formal exploration of a candidacy for the 2016 Republican nomination for the President of ...

. In February 2016, he joined the law firm Boyden Gray & Associates. From January 2017 to February 2018, Lyons worked at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary. 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. Lyons oversaw, together with the White House Chief of Staff, the flow of information to the President. In May 2020, Lyons was slated to serve as the Director of the

United States Domestic Policy Council The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for the consideration of domestic policy matters and senior policymaking, Cabinet, and White House officials. The Council is part of the Office ...

, 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

, alongside

Hope Hicks Hope Charlotte Hicks (born October 21, 1988) is an American public relations executive and political advisor who served in President Donald Trump’s administration from 2017 to 2018 and 2020 to 2021. She served as White House Director of Strate ...

and

Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth Conway (née Fitzpatrick; born January 20, 1967) 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 previous ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Derek Assistants to the President of the United States Duke University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Living people People associated with Gibson Dunn Strake Jesuit College Preparatory alumni Texas Republicans Trump administration personnel United States congressional aides United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit White House Staff Secretaries Year of birth missing (living people)