Dan Scavino | |
|---|---|
 | |
| White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications | |
| In office April 21, 2020 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Stephanie Grisham (White House Communications Director) |
| Succeeded by | Kate Bedingfield (White House Communications Director) |
| White House Director of Social Media | |
| In office January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Rob Flaherty (Digital Strategy) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Daniel Scavino Jr. New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Jennifer Scavino
(m. 2000; div. 2018) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | State University of New York, Plattsburgh (BA) |
Daniel Scavino Jr. is an American political adviser who served in the Trump administration as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications from 2020 to 2021, and Director of Social Media from 2017 to 2021.[1][2] Scavino previously was the general manager of Trump National Golf Club Westchester, and the director of social media for the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign.[3]
Scavino was born in New York and is of Italian descent.[4] He was raised in the New York City area.[5][6] In 1992, Scavino was selected as a caddie for Trump's golf party at Briar Hall Country Club (later renamed Trump National Golf Club Westchester). He graduated from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications.[citation needed]
Scavino worked for a few years at Coca-Cola in the sales department and as a pharmaceutical rep at Galderma, before becoming assistant manager in 2004 and then general manager in 2008 of Trump National Golf Club Westchester.[7][8][9][10]
Scavino was involved with Donald Trump's presidential campaign since it began in June 2015. In February 2016, Trump appointed Scavino as the campaign's director of social media. Over the July 4, 2016 weekend, controversy arose when Trump's Twitter account posted an image selected by Scavino of Hillary Clinton with a text in the shape of a Star of David calling her the "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever." The image had originally appeared on an anti-Semitic, white supremacist message board. Trump's team defended its use saying that the star was a "sheriff's badge", before eventually deleting it and posting a new picture with a circle replacing the star.[7]
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On December 22, 2016, Scavino was named White House Director of Social Media under President Donald Trump.[11]
In April 2017, ethics attorney Richard Painter accused Scavino of violating the Hatch Act of 1939 (which bars executive branch employees from engaging in electoral activities) after Scavino, from his personal Twitter account had called for defeating Congressman Justin Amash.[12] The United States Office of Special Counsel then informed Scavino that his tweet had indeed violated the Hatch Act and warned future violations "could result in further action."[13] In May 2019, Politico reported that Scavino frequented the r/The_Donald subreddit.[14]
On June 18, 2019, USA Today released an article stating that Scavino was the writer of several of Trump's tweets, most likely those sent between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and those without spelling mistakes.[15] Scavino claimed that "Trump does his own tweets."[16]
Scavino was the longest-serving aide in the Trump Administration. He remained as Director of Social Media until the end of Trump's term as president.[17]
In December 2020, after Trump lost the election, standing in a hallway near the Blue Room of the White House, Scavino told Jenna Ellis that Trump would refuse to leave office, as Ellis told Georgia prosecutors nearly three years later when she pleaded guilty in the Georgia election racketeering prosecution. Ellis recalled: "And he said to me, you know, in a kind of excited tone, ‘Well, we don’t care, and we’re not going to leave.'"[18] "The boss is not going to leave under any circumstances. We are just going to stay in power."[19]
On September 24, 2021, the U.S. House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack subpoenaed Scavino for records and testimony.[20] Represented by lawyer Stanley Woodward,[21] he claimed executive privilege and evaded investigators.[22][23][24] On April 6, 2022, the House voted to hold Scavino and Peter Navarro in contempt for refusing to testify before the committee.[25] However, the Justice Department said it would not prosecute Scavino.[26] In 2023, a federal judge said Scavino must comply with a grand jury subpoena from Jack Smith's investigation, after which Scavino spoke to investigators from Smith's team.[27]
Daniel and Jennifer Scavino were married in 2000; they have two children. His wife filed for divorce in January 2018.[28]
