Tony Sayegh (born October 29, 1976, in Brooklyn, New York) served as a White House Senior Advisor for Strategy[1] until February 2020,[citation needed] and is a former Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of the Treasury,[2][3][4] serving from March 6, 2017, to June 2019.[5][4] He led the department's Office of Public Affairs.[3] During the passage of the Tax Cuts And Jobs Act, Sayegh was detailed to the White House Office of Communications[6] appearing numerous times in the media to promote the passage of comprehensive tax reform.[7][8][9][10] Sayegh was a Republican strategist and contributor for the Fox News Channel prior to joining the administration,[11] and served as Executive Vice President at Jamestown Associates[12] from 2013 to 2017.

Tony Sayegh
United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Public Affairs
In office
March 6, 2017 – May 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byVictoria Esser
Succeeded byMonica Crowley
Personal details
Born
Tony Elias Sayegh Jr.

(1976-10-29) October 29, 1976 (age 48)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationGeorge Washington University (BA, MPA)

Early life and education

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Sayegh's parents, Amale and Tony Sayegh, immigrated from Lebanon in the 1960s.[13] He attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he received a B.A. in political science and a Master of Public Administration.[14] Sayegh was elected Executive Vice President of the George Washington University Student Association and was awarded the Presidential Administrative Fellowship at the University.[15] He later served on the University Board of Trustees.[16]

Career

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Sayegh served in numerous Republican Communications and Press roles, including for the 2000 Republican National Convention, Governor George Pataki and vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp.

In 2003, Sayegh was elected to public office, serving two terms as Deputy Mayor and Trustee for the Village of Tuckahoe, New York.[5][17] He acted as liaison to the Police and Fire Departments, courts, and schools and managed the Intergovernmental relations portfolio for the Village Board.[5]

Beginning in April 2009, Sayegh appeared as a regular guest on the Fox News Channel,[11] where he represented his views as a Republican campaign strategist and political analyst.[18] In January 2013, he became a Fox News Contributor, and appeared across multiple network platforms including the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FoxNews.com and Fox News Radio.[19] Sayegh served as a Spring 2017 Georgetown University Institute of Politics Fellow.[20] In addition to his role as a Fox News contributor,[21][22] Sayegh maintained an active media portfolio, having served as a National Political Correspondent for Talk Radio News Service (now Talk Media News), based in Washington, D.C., and as a Republican analyst at Cablevision's News 12 Westchester / Hudson Valley.

Prior to his service in the Trump Administration, Sayegh served as Executive Vice President of Jamestown Associates, a nationally recognized political consulting and media advertising firm.[12] His campaigns received industry recognition, including winning the 2014 Reed Award for "Most Original TV Advertisement" and the 2015 Reed Award for "Best Comparative Mail Piece".[23] Jamestown Associates produced TV advertisements for the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump.[24]

Upon his departure from the Treasury in June 2019, Secretary Mnuchin awarded Sayegh with the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest honor bestowed by the department.[25]

In September 2019 Sayegh joined Teneo, A global CEO advisory firm, as Managing Director working out of both the New York City and D.C. offices.[25][26]

In November 2019 Sayegh joined the White House staff as Senior Advisor for Strategy[1][27] in what was expected to be a temporary position to help organize the response to the House impeachment inquiry.[28][29]

In April 2020, President Trump appointed Sayegh to be a member of the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.[30]

In July 2020, Sayegh was brought on as a consultant to help handle the Republican Convention.[31][32][33] Sayegh, who had previously helped to steer the White House impeachment defense, was recruited to lead the programming for the four-day event.[34]

In 2024, The Wall Street Journal profiled Sayegh as the head of public affairs for a major TikTok investor and a prominent opponent of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.[35]

Personal life

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Sayegh and his wife, Maria (née Cermele), live in Eastchester, New York, with their four sons.[36]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "White House Senior Advisor For Strategy Tony Sayegh". HighHewitt.com. November 25, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  2. ^ "Officials | U.S. Department of the Treasury". home.treasury.gov. Archived from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Administrative Posts". whitehouse.gov. March 3, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2018 – via National Archives.
  4. ^ a b Bowden, John (July 16, 2019). "Trump taps Monica Crowley to be Treasury spokeswoman". The Hill. Retrieved July 23, 2019. Tony Sayegh, who left the agency in May.
  5. ^ a b c Spillane, Matt (March 9, 2017). "Trump to Appoint Eastchester's Tony Sayegh Jr. to Treasury Job". The Journal News. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  6. ^ "Trump's team and lawmakers making strides on tax reform plan". Politico. August 22, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  7. ^ "Treasury's Sayegh Says Tax Bill a Big Win For U.S." bloomberg.com. December 22, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "Tony Sayegh on efforts to get a 'yes' on GOP tax reform | Fox Business Video - FoxBusiness.com". Fox Business. September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  9. ^ "Treasury Department assistant secretary on tax reform push". Fox News. September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  10. ^ "Tony Sayegh on Trump's tax plan: We do believe big tax reform can get done". Fox Business. May 15, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Limitone, Julia (April 27, 2017). "Tony Sayegh : Trump's tax Plan A Boon to Small Business". Fox Business. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Jamestown Associates". Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  13. ^ Schreck, Tom (August 2017). "Trump's Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Talks Westchester Origins". Westchester Magazine.
  14. ^ "Tony Sayegh". treasury.gov. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  15. ^ "Tony Sayegh | Presidential Fellowship | Enrollment and the Student Experience | The George Washington University". paf.gwu.edu. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  16. ^ "Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Services". Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  17. ^ "Tuckahoe Village Minutes" (PDF). February 12, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  18. ^ McKenna, Katie (May 15, 2015). "'Big' Tax Reform Will Happen This Year: Treasury's Tony Sayegh". Fox Business. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  19. ^ Tony Sayegh at IMDb. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  20. ^ "Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service".
  21. ^ Sayegh, Tony (December 21, 2016). "Right Way Forward for Immigration in Trump Administration". Fox News. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016.
  22. ^ Matthews, Cara (October 19, 2014). "A Lifetime in Politics". The Journal News.
  23. ^ "2015 Reed Award Winners". Campaigns and Elections. January 24, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  24. ^ "Jamestown's Sayegh, Konkus, Dorr, and Henning Join the Trump Administration". Jamestown Associates. March 9, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  25. ^ a b "Tony Sayegh Joins Teneo as a Managing Director". Teneo (Press release). September 9, 2019.
  26. ^ "Tracking power: From Trump to Teneo". Axios AM. Axios. September 9, 2019.
  27. ^ Ellison, Sarah (December 4, 2019). "A look inside Trump's anti-impeachment spin factory". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  28. ^ Pettypiece, Shannon; Welker, Kristen (November 6, 2019). "White House to add staff for impeachment response". NBC News. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  29. ^ Rogers, Katie (December 11, 2019). "Movie Nights, Camp David and Cable Messaging: A White House Impeachment Playbook". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  30. ^ "Donald Trump taps Tuckahoe resident, former Treasury spokesman for Kennedy Center post". lohud.com. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  31. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M.; Karni, Annie (August 24, 2020). "Republicans Rush to Finalize Convention ('Apprentice' Producers Are Helping)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  32. ^ "An 'Apprentice' producer and a TV-obsessed president: Inside the GOP's convention scramble". Politico. August 22, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  33. ^ Karni, Annie (September 2, 2020). "Gettysburg? The Liberty Bell? Trump Weighs R.N.C. Speech Options". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  34. ^ "How Trump went from a massive convention bash to no party at all". Politico. July 23, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  35. ^ Wells, Georgia; Mattioli, Dana; Woo, Stu (November 28, 2024). "How TikTok's Trump Whisperer Changed Minds in Washington". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  36. ^ Schreck, Tom (August 1, 2017). "Trump's Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Talks Westchester Origins". WestchesterMagazine.com. Retrieved September 20, 2018.