Tevi David Troy is a presidential historian and the former

United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services The Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (formerly the under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1953–1979, and the under Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1979–1990) is the Chief Operating Officer of the United States ...

(August 2007January 2009) during the

Presidency of George W. Bush George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following his narrow electoral college victo ...

. He also served as a senior White House aide in the George W. Bush administration from March 2005 to July 2007. Troy founded the American Health Policy Institute and served as its

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

from 2014 to 2018. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the

Bipartisan Policy Center The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that promotes bipartisanship. The organization aims to combine ideas from both the Republican and Democratic parties to address U.S. policy challenges. History BPC w ...

Personal history

Troy is the son of Elaine Troy and Bernard Dov Troy of

Queens Village, New York Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose, Queens and Elmont, Nassau County to the ...

, and a brother of

Gil Troy Gil Troy (born 1961) is an American presidential historian and a popular commentator on politics and other issues. He is a professor of history at McGill University. Troy is the author of twelve books, and the editor of two. He writes a column for ...

and Dan Troy. He is an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tran ...

and member of the Kemp Mill Synagogue in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

, where he lives with his wife, Kami (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Pliskow) and their four children."Weddings: Kami Pliskow and Tevi Troy"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', August 15, 1999, accessed May 1, 2007.

Education

Troy graduated from the Ramaz Upper School, a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

college preparatory A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...

, private

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

Jewish day school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jews, Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiat ...

located on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

of the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

; he earned a B.S. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and an

M.A Ma, MA, or mA may refer to: Academia * Master of Arts, a degree award * Marin Academy, a high school in San Rafael, California * Menlo-Atherton High School, a public high school in Atherton, California * Minnehaha Academy, a private high schoo ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

American Civilization The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization began and wars and epidemics largely decimated Indigenous societie ...

from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

; and studied at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

Career

From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Troy served as the Policy Director for Senator

John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, Lobbying, lobbyist, and former politician who served as the 79th United States attorney general under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. A Republican Party (United States), R ...

. From 1996 to 1998, Troy was Senior Domestic Policy Adviser and later Domestic Policy Director for the House Policy Committee, chaired by

Christopher Cox Charles Christopher Cox (born October 16, 1952) is an American attorney and politician who served as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a 17-year Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House ...

. Beginning in August 2003, he served at the White House as Deputy Cabinet Secretary and Liaison to the Jewish communityMatthew E. Berger
"Bush Names Orthodox Adviser As New White House Jewish Liaison"
''

The Jewish Press ''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York City. It serves the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. History The ''Jewish Press'' was co-founded in 1960 by Albert Klass and his brother Sholom Klass. The Klas ...

'' August 8, 2003, accessed April 30, 2007.Cached version of "Q&A with Tevi Troy"

Orthodox Union The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs f ...

. where he advocated for more intense Republican outreach to the American Jewish community noting that nearly 50 percent of Democratic donors are Jewish: "if you're going to take away some percentage of

hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube or pipe designed to carry fluids from one location to another, often from a faucet or hydrant. Early hoses were made of leather, although modern hoses are typically made of rubber, canvas, and helically wound w ...

donations to Obama, we're talking some serious money." After less than a year, in May 2004, Troy left the position of White House liaison to the Jewish community to work in the policy department of the 2004 Bush presidential campaign, at which time he was replaced by Noam NeusnerMatthew E. Berger
"Bush Speechwriter Noam Neusner Named White House’s Jewish Liaison"
, ''

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...

'' (JTA) May 18, 2004, accessed April 30, 2007. (Neusner is the founder of the consulting fir
Neusner Communications
which specializes in "speechwriting, journalism, and corporate public relations," and its

" team member.)Nathan Guttman
"Top White House Posts Go to Jews"
, ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' April 25, 2006, accessed April 30, 2007. (son of

Jacob Neusner Jacob Neusner (July 28, 1932 – October 8, 2016) was an American academic scholar of Judaism. He was named as one of the most published authors in history, having written or edited more than 900 books. Neusner's application of form criticism� ...

). As a member of the United States of America Mission to the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

, Troy was a member of the US delegation to a conference on antisemitism held in Berlin in April 2004. He was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Labor and a policy director in the Senate office of for Sen.

(R-MO), who later became Attorney General, an appointment which Troy supported enthusiastically in his article "My Boss the Fanatic" published in ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

''.Biography: "Tevi David Troy"
.Tevi Troy
"My Boss the Fanatic"
''

'' January 29, 2001, accessed April 30, 2007 (abstract; full article requires subscription; purchase); rpt. i
"An Office That Holds Bible Study Together...:
An Orthodox Jewish Staffer Lauds John Ashcroft's Inclusion of Minority Religions in his Senate Office", '' Beliefnet.com'', accessed April 30, 2007. Troy worked in the Bush administration White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy from March 2005 to July 2007 and was appointed in August 2007 as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services, where he remained until January 2009.

Dan Froomkin Dan Froomkin is the editor of Press Watch, an independent website previously known as White House Watch. He is a former senior writer and Washington editor for ''The Intercept''. Prior to that, he was a writer and editor for ''The Huffington Post' ...

"White House Watch: Inside the Real West Wing"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' August 22, 2006, accessed April 25, 2007. Troy also serves as a member of the

Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, formerly known as the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, is an organization of former high-ranking government officials that analyzes US capabilities and capacity to defend against Bioterrorism, biologic ...

, a group that encourages and advocates changes to government policy to strengthen national

biodefense Biodefense refers to measures to counter biological agent, biological threats, reduce biological risks, and prepare for, respond to, and recover from bioincidents, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate in origin and whether impa ...

. In order to address biological threats facing the nation, the Blue-Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense created a 33-step initiative for the U.S. Government to implement. Headed by former Senator Joe Lieberman and former Governor Tom Ridge, the Study Panel assembled in Washington D.C. for four meetings concerning current biodefense programs. The Study Panel concluded that the federal government had little to no defense mechanisms in case of a biological event. The Study Panel's final report, ''The National Blueprint for Biodefense'', proposes a string of solutions and recommendations for the U.S. Government to take, including items such as giving the Vice President authority over biodefense responsibilities and merging the entire biodefense budget. These solutions represent the Panel's call to action in order to increase awareness and activity for pandemic-related issues. From 2009 to 2022, Troy was a Senior Fellow at the

Hudson Institute Hudson Institute is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Kahn ...

. From 2014 to 2018, He was the founder and CEO of the American Health Policy Institute. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the

Published works

Troy is the author of three books and more than 250 articles published 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 ...

'', ''Commentary'', ''POLITICO'', ''

The Times Higher Education Supplement ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'', ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

'', ''

National Affairs ''National Affairs'' is a quarterly magazine in the United States about political affairs that was first published in September 2009. Its founding editor, Yuval Levin, and authors are typically considered to be conservative and right-wing. The ...

'', ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...

'', ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', and ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

'', and an article in ''

'' entitled "
My Boss the Fanatic
'", concerning "John Ashcroft's relations with the Jews on his staff." * ''Intellectuals and the American Presidency: Philosophers, Jesters, or Technicians?'' 2002; Lanham:

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

, 2003. Hardback ed. (May 2002; 280 pp.): ; . Paperback ed. (2003): ; .
"My Boss the Fanatic"
''

'' January 29, 2001. Accessed April 30, 2007 (abstract; full article requires subscription; purchase). Rpt. i
"An Office That Holds Bible Study Together...:
An Orthodox Jewish Staffer Lauds John Ashcroft's Inclusion of Minority Religions in his Senate Office", '' Beliefnet.com'', n.d. Accessed April 30, 2007, and o
Troy's website
* ''Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump'' 2020; Regnery History * ''The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry'' 2024; Regnery History

References

External links

"Q&A with Tevi Troy"
conducted by Ari Fridman. ''The Commentator: Official Newspaper of Yeshiva College and Sy Syms School of Business'' September 20, 2004. (requires registration after first access.)
"White House Official Praises Wyman Institute"
Press release. ''

David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

'' May 29, 2004.
Tevi Troy website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troy, Tevi David 1967 births Living people 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American chief executives American male non-fiction writers American Orthodox Jews Cornell University alumni George W. Bush administration personnel Jewish American government officials Jewish American non-fiction writers Maryland Republicans New York (state) Republicans People from Kemp Mill, Maryland Ramaz School alumni United States Department of Health and Human Services officials United States deputy secretaries of health and human services University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni