President Trump announced key senior staff appointments to the White House National Economic Council (“NEC”). He previously announced Dr. Kevin Hassett will serve as NEC Director.
“I am pleased to announce the brilliant team who will serve on the White House National Economic Council under Kevin Hassett, one of the world’s most respected economists. We will unleash a renaissance in American prosperity and innovation by putting our Nation’s Citizens, Families, and Businesses first,” said President Trump.
Robin Colwell will serve as Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the NEC. Colwell was formerly a Principal at BGR Group in Washington, D.C. She previously served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Technology, Telecom, and Cybersecurity Policy, and at the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives as Chief Counsel for Communications and Technology. Colwell also served as Chief of Staff to FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, and as Legislative Counsel to Senator Tim Scott. Prior to her time in government, she was an associate at Wiley Rein LLP. She holds a B.S. from Florida State University and a J.D. from William & Mary Law School, and served as a law clerk to Chief Judge H. Robert Mayer of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Nels Nordquist will serve as Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the NEC for International Economics. Previously, he was Staff Director for the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions of the House Financial Services Committee. Prior, he was Senior Fellow for Economic Policy in the office of Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. He worked in the National Security Council and National Economic Council, first as Director for Trade & Investment and later as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economic Policy. Nordquist started his career as an officer in the U.S. Navy then entered the U.S. Foreign Service as a political officer with tours in Bangkok, Paris, and Washington. He worked in emerging markets at Credit Lyonnais and in commercial real estate finance for Hines. He subsequently joined the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, working on federal partnerships, foreign partnerships, and on the NSC task force on export control reform. He graduated from Stanford and holds an MBA from the University of Virginia.
Paige Willey will serve as Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the NEC. Previously, she served on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s executive leadership team, advising landmark initiatives combatting illegal immigration, challenging technology companies’ censorship practices, protecting consumer rights and data privacy, and defeating harmful corporate “ESG” policies. During President Trump’s first term, Willey served as Special Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and as Associate Chief of Staff for the White House Council of Economic Advisers. She holds a B.A. with High Honors from Swarthmore College in Political Science.
Ryan Baasch will serve as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, primarily focusing on technology, telecom, and cybersecurity. Baasch previously served as Associate Deputy Attorney General to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, where he supervised the office's civil enforcement divisions. Baasch's signature achievements included creating the nation's largest State data privacy enforcement team and suing asset managers for ESG-related antitrust violations. As Assistant Solicitor General, he defended Texas’s anti-censorship law in the U.S. Supreme Court. Baasch also led initiatives to penalize entities that facilitated illegal border crossings. Prior, Baasch was an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP representing telecommunications clients in litigation and regulatory disputes against the FCC and FTC. Baasch began his legal career as a law clerk for D.C. Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson and holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Emory Cox will serve as Special Assistant to the President for International Economic Relations. Cox most recently served as Senior Economic Advisor to U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, advising Senator on all matters related to financial services, tax, budget, appropriations, and international economics. Cox served in the first Trump Administration as Associate Director of the NEC under the leadership of Larry Kudlow where he covered the financial policy portfolio. Previously, Cox served as a staffer in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. He holds a B.A. from Washington and Lee University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with membership in Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa.
Cale Clingenpeel will serve as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, focusing primarily on trade, immigration, and labor. Clingenpeel was previously Chief Economist of Greenmantle, a macroeconomic and geopolitical advisory firm. He also led global research at a large, first-time growth equity fund. Prior to his financial markets experience, he served as Senior Advisor to the Chairman and Economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Trump’s first term. Clingenpeel served on the 2024 Republican National Convention platform committee policy staff and as an external economic advisor to President Trump's 2024 campaign. He holds a B.S. in International Economics from Georgetown University and an M.A. in International Economics and Finance from Johns Hopkins University.
Andrew Lyon will serve as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, focusing primarily on tax policy. Lyon formerly served as Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax Analysis) under President George W. Bush and as a senior staff economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under President George H. W. Bush. He also served on the staff of the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. In the private sector, Lyon was a Principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and led its National Economics and Statistics practice. Lyon also was an associate professor of economics at the University of Maryland. Lyon is the recipient of the Treasury Department’s Distinguished Service Award and the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner’s Award. He has published numerous research papers on tax and budget issues. Lyon holds an A.B. in economics from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.
Jeff Wrase will serve as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, focusing primarily on financial regulation and banking. Wrase served as Chief Economist on the congressional Joint Economic Committee, House and Senate Budget Committees, and Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and as Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy of the House Committee on Financial Services. He also served as Chief Economist, Deputy Staff Director, and Staff Director on the Senate Committee on Finance. Prior to his work in Congress, he was a Senior Economist in the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and taught economics at Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, Temple University, and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Wrase holds a B.A in economics and business administration from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, an M.A. in economics from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. in economics from Brown University.
Joel M. Zinberg will serve as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, focusing primarily on healthcare and deregulation. Dr. Zinberg served in the first Trump Administration as Senior Economist and General Counsel at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He practiced general surgery and surgical oncology for nearly 30 years as Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at New York’s Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine. He taught for 10 years at the Columbia University Law school and held positions involving health policy in New York State government, at the American Enterprise Institute, and as President of the New York County Medical Society. Dr. Zinberg has been Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Director of the Public Health and American Well-Being Initiative at the Paragon Health Institute. He received a B.A. in economics from Swarthmore College, an M.D. from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a J.D. from the Yale Law School. |