Ja'Ron Smith
Deputy Director of the Office of American Innovation
In office
April 2019 – November 6, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
DirectorJared Kushner
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Personal details
Born (1982-07-29) July 29, 1982[1][2]
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationHoward University (BBA, MDiv)

Ja'Ron K. Smith (born July 29, 1982) is an American political advisor. He served as a Deputy Assistant to the President and deputy director of the Office of American Innovation for Donald Trump from April 2019 to November 2020.[3][4] Smith had previously served in the administration as a Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs from June 2018 to April 2019 and Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy from February to June 2018.[5][6][7][8][9] He also served as the director of urban affairs and revitalization from the beginning of the Trump administration in January 2017.[10]

Early life and education

Smith is a native of Cleveland, Ohio.[11][12] Smith's father worked in the construction industry during summers and as a snow-plower in the winters. Smith's mother was addicted to crack cocaine and left the family for three years before eventually getting off the drug and returning to work at a gas station.

Smith attended the Immaculate Conception School before being offered a football scholarship from St. Peter Chanel High School in Bedford, Ohio. During his high school football career, Smith was teammates with Bam Childress and Steve Cargile. Smith says he was recruited to play football by John Carroll University, but instead attended Howard University, studying Finance and Economics.[13] Smith then earned a Master of Divinity from the Howard University Divinity School.

Career

While in college, Smith worked as an intern for Congressman J. C. Watts. Smith also worked for South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and then-U.S. Rep. Mike Pence.

In August 2018, Smith's role in the White House was highlighted during questioning of Kellyanne Conway by Jonathan Karl on ABC's This Week regarding the number of Black people that the Trump administration has in senior roles.[14] It emerged that Smith was the highest-ranking Black aide in the White House Office.[15] CNN Digital Expansion ran a "who is" piece later that week.[16]

On November 6, 2020, Smith announced in a statement posted on Twitter that he had left his post following the 2020 United States presidential election.[17][18][19]

References

  1. ↑ "BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Ja'Ron Smith, deputy assistant to the president". Politico. July 29, 2019.
  2. ↑ Eaton, Sabrina (October 2, 2019). "Cleveland native Ja'Ron Smith guides President Donald Trump's urban policy". The Plain Dealer.
  3. ↑ "Annual Report to Congress on White House Personnel 2020" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. June 26, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020 – via National Archives.
  4. ↑ Connolly, Griffin (November 7, 2020). "Ja'Ron Smith, highest-ranking Black Trump adviser, has left the White House". The Independent. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  5. ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov. February 9, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018 – via National Archives.
  6. ↑ "Domestic Policy Council, Staff Announcements | Federal Relations". www.washington.edu. January 5, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Ja'Ron K. Smith | Trump Town". ProPublica. March 7, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Annual Report to Congress on White House Personnel 2019" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. June 28, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2020 – via National Archives.
  9. ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov. June 6, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018 – via National Archives.
  10. ↑ Bowden, John (January 29, 2020). "Trump supporters giving away thousands of dollars at events in black communities: report". The Hill. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Domestic Policy Council, Staff Announcements". Federal Relations. January 5, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  12. ↑ Ja'Ron K. Smith 12.13.19., retrieved May 18, 2020
  13. ↑ Eaton, Sabrina (October 2, 2019). "Cleveland native Ja'Ron Smith guides President Donald Trump's urban policy". Cleveland.com. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  14. ↑ Stanley-Becker, Isaac (August 13, 2018). "A black adviser in Trump's West Wing? Kellyanne Conway is stumped". Washington Post. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Ja'Ron K. Smith, the White House's highest ranking African-American staffer. – Friends of the African Union". December 13, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  16. ↑ Phillip, Abby; Klein, Betsy (August 16, 2018). "Black in the White House: Meet Ja'Ron Smith". CNN. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  17. ↑ @jaronsmith04 (November 6, 2020). "https://twitter.com/jaronsmith04/status/1324839895735635980" (Tweet). Retrieved November 7, 2020 – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ "The highest-ranking Black Trump adviser has left the White House". The Independent. November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  19. ↑ [http://advancingopportunity.org/press-releases/the-announcement-of-caos-new-executive-director-jaron-smith/ Archived May 13, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
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