Kush Desai is an American political aide who has been serving as the

White House deputy press secretary The White House Office of the Press Secretary, or the Press Office, is responsible for gathering and disseminating information to three principal groups: the president, the White House staff, and the media. The office is headed by the White House ...

under the

second Trump administration Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon his inauguration as the 47th president on January 20, 2025. On his first day, Trump pardoned about 1,500 people convicted of offenses in the Janua ...

since 2025.

Early life and education

Desai was born to an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

immigrant family and attended high school in

Nutley, New Jersey Nutley is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 30,143, an increase of 1,773 (+6.2%) from the 2010 United ...

. He later graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in Hanover, New Hampshire, with his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2017. While at Dartmouth, he was awarded the James O. Freedman Presidential Research Scholarship.

Career

Desai began his career as a reporter for ''

The Daily Caller ''The Daily Caller'' is a right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by political commentator Tucker Carlson and political advisor Neil Patel in 2010. Launched as a "conservative answer to ''The Huffington ...

'' in Washington, D.C., from July 2017 to March 2018. Before becoming Deputy Press Secretary, he served as Deputy Battleground States and Pennsylvania Communications Director at the RNC (July 2024), and Deputy Communications Director for the 2024 Republican National Convention. From December 2022 to January 2024, Desai was Communications Director for the Republican Party of Iowa; this capped a more than 4-year tenure at the RNC, where he rose from Research Analyst, to Director of Vetting, and eventually to this communications role. On January 25, 2025, Desai was appointed as White House Deputy Press Secretary by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

References

Living people Second Trump administration personnel American press secretaries People associated with the 2024 United States presidential election American people of Indian descent Dartmouth College alumni {{US-poli-stub