Johnny DeStefano (born 1979) is an American political advisor who served as Assistant to 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 ...

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 ...

from 2017 to May 2019. He previously oversaw the

Office of Intergovernmental Affairs The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs is a unit of the White House Office, within the Executive Office of the President. It serves as the primary liaison between the White House and state, county (or county-equivalent), local, and t ...

White House Presidential Personnel Office The White House Presidential Personnel Office (PPO, sometimes written as Office of Presidential Personnel) is the White House Office tasked with vetting new appointees. Its offices are on the first floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building ...

, Office of Political Affairs, and

Office of Public Liaison The White House Office of Public Engagement is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under the administration of President Barack Obama, it was called the White House Office of Publ ...

. DeStefano entered the Trump administration as Director of Presidential Personnel. After leaving the White House, DeStefano was appointed an adviser to the e-cigarette company

Juul Juul Labs, Inc. (, stylized as JUUL Labs) is an American electronic cigarette company that spun off from Pax Labs in 2017. Juul Labs makes the Juul electronic cigarette, which atomizes nicotine salts derived from tobacco supplied by one-t ...

Career

Following his graduation, DeStefano worked for the

House Republican Conference The House Republican Conference is the party caucus for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It hosts meetings and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. The Conference produces a daily pu ...

as a liaison to outside conservative groups. In 2006, he ran the reelection campaign of Ohio Representative Deborah Pryce. Prior to his White House positions, DeStefano worked for Ohio Republican Congressman John Boehner. From 2007 to 2011, he was Boehner's political director. From 2011 to 2013, when Boehner was Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, DeStefano served as Boehner's senior advisor. DeStefano also worked with the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. Political action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...

building "a 2016 voter file and political database."

Data Trust

In July 2013, DeStefano was named president of Data Trust, a private company that is the primary handler of voter files for the Republican National Committee.

Trump administration

On January 4, 2017, DeStefano was named Director of Presidential Personnel in the Trump administration. On the evening of January 30, 2017, DeStefano wrote a letter to Acting Attorney General

Sally Yates Sally Quillian Yates (born Sally Caroline Quillian; August 20, 1960) is an American lawyer. From 2010 to 2015, she was United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. In 2015, she was appointed United States Deputy Attorney General b ...

informing her that "the president adremoved erfrom the office of Deputy Attorney General of the United States." Yates' dismissal followed her decision to inform the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

that she did not see defending Trump's executive order "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States" as consistent with her responsibilities. In May 2019, ''The Washington Post'' reported that DeStefano was leaving the administration on May 24 and intended to advise companies including

, an e-cigarette company with substantial business before the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeStefano, Johnny 1978 births 21st-century American politicians Counselors to the President Living people Missouri Republicans People from Kansas City, Missouri Saint Louis University alumni Trump administration personnel