Jesse Michael Panuccio (born November 1, 1980) is an American attorney and government official. He served as the acting

United States Associate Attorney General The United States associate attorney general is the third-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The associate attorney general advises and assists the attorney general and the deputy attorney general in poli ...

in 2017 and again from February 2018 to May 2019. He previously served as general counsel to Governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

of Florida and as the executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.Toluse Olorunnipa
Free-market conservative leads Gov. Rick Scott's jobs agency
''Miami Herald'' (January 27, 2013).

Education

Panuccio received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' in 2006.

Legal career

Panuccio is a member of the Florida and District of Columbia bars. Panuccio served as a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to Judge

Michael W. McConnell Michael William McConnell (born May 18, 1955) is an American jurist who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 2002 to 2009. Since 2009, McConnell has been a professor and Direc ...

of the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Distric ...

. Panuccio then practiced law with the Washington D.C.–based

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

Cooper & Kirk PLLC.

Florida government service

Panuccio joined the administration of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

as deputy general counsel in January 2011 after a law school friend working on Scott's campaign suggested that Panuccio should join Scott's transition team. In 2012, Governor Scott appointed Panuccio general counsel to the governor. In those roles, Panuccio represented the governor and the state in several significant legal challenges, including challenges to drug testing of state employees and welfare recipients as well as a required state-worker pension contribution. He also advised the governor on judicial appointments and served as chief ethics officer for the Executive Office of the Governor. In January 2013, Scott appointed Panuccio executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.Michael Auslen & Jeremy Wallace
Jesse Panuccio, Gov. Rick Scott's jobs chief, resigns as agency head
''Tampa Bay Times''/''Miami Herald'' Tallahassee Bureau (December 4, 2015). At the time, Panuccio was 32 years old and was the youngest agency head in Florida government. During his tenure, Panuccio wrote an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

in the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' about the departments efforts to combat fraud in the unemployment insurance program, and an op-ed in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' opposing the U.S. Department of Labor's proposed changes to its overtime rules. In December 2015, Panuccio announced his resignation, effective January 8, 2016. On January 25, 2016, Governor Scott appointed Panuccio to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.

Department of Justice service

In January 2017, Panuccio was named acting Associate Attorney General of the United States. Panuccio's former boss and mentor, Chuck Cooper of Cooper & Kirk, was advising Senator

Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States attorney general from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United Stat ...

on staffing President-elect Donald Trump's transition team and recommended Panuccio for the position. The associate attorney general is the third highest-ranking official at the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

, and oversees virtually all non-criminal matters. After newly confirmed attorney general

William Barr William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as United States Attorney General, United States attorney general in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993 and again in the first adminis ...

took office, he resigned from office and was succeeded by former

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

official

Claire McCusker Murray Claire McCusker Murray (born April 19, 1982) is an American lawyer who served as associate White House counsel and acting associate attorney general in the United States Department of Justice during the first presidency of Donald Trump. She serv ...

References

External links

Office of the Associate Attorney General
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Panuccio, Jesse 1980 births Living people Florida Republicans Florida lawyers Harvard Law School alumni United States associate attorneys general First Trump administration personnel Duke University alumni American people of Italian descent