Zachary Fuentes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| White House Principal Deputy Chief of Staff | |
| In office June 6, 2018 – January 2, 2019 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | James W. Carroll |
| Succeeded by | Emma Doyle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1981 or 1982 (age 42–43)[1] |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | United States Coast Guard Academy (BS) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Coast Guard |
Zachary D. Fuentes is an American political advisor and businessman who served as Assistant to the President andDeputy Chief of Staff in thefirst Trump Administration. He formerly served as a senior advisor and assistant toJohn F. Kelly, while he served asWhite House Chief of Staff andSecretary of Homeland Security.[2][3] He left the Trump administration in January 2019.
A member of theUnited States Coast Guard, Fuentes earned a Bachelor of Science degree from theUnited States Coast Guard Academy.[4]
In November 2018, Fuentes was blamed for the decision that Trump would not be able to fly or drive in a motorcade to theAisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial as part of theFirst World War centenary.[5]
The New York Times reported on December 20, 2018, that Fuentes, an officer on active duty with theUnited States Coast Guard, had discussed inserting a provision into a House bill that would have allowed him to take advantage of a Coast Guard early retirement program that had previously expired. Homeland Security officials began pressing Congress to reinstate the provision in November 2018. It was abruptly withdrawn from a bill after reporters had inquired about it in December.[1]
After Kelly's exit from the white house was announced on December 8, 2018, PresidentDonald Trump rejected Fuentes as being named interim chief of staff. Fuentes told colleagues he was planning to "hide out" in theEisenhower Executive Office Building for six months to accomplish the retirement program minimum career length.[1][6][7][8] In the White House, Fuentes' nicknames included "Zotus", "deputy president", and "prime minister".[1][9]
On January 2, 2019, Fuentes' White House title changed to Assistant to The President and Senior Adviser to the Chief of Staff,Mick Mulvaney. This was reported as a sign of Fuentes' expected departure from the White House.[10][11][12]
During the 2020COVID-19 pandemic, Fuentes created the company Zach Fuentes LLC and received a $3 million contract from theIndian Health Service to provide protective face masks to hospitals in theNavajo Nation, 11 days after creating the company. Over 25% of the masks were reported to be unsuitable for medical use, and another 15% were of a type that was not requested.[13][14]US House of Representatives membersGerry Connolly andRuben Gallego called for an investigation of the contract, and principal deputy inspector generalChristi Grimm of theOffice of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that the office would contact Connolly for more information on the matter.[15] By July 2020, NPR reported that Congress was investigating the awarding of the contract to Fuentes's company.[16]
By Tuesday, Trump was still fuming about the incident and had complained to aides that he looked "terrible," the Post reports. He also reportedly blamed his chief of staff's office, particularly Fuentes, for not warning him that canceling the visit would prompt widespread criticism.
Some aides have tried to disappear across the street. Zachary D. Fuentes, the deputy chief of staff, is still on the payroll, even though the acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, brought in his own deputy, Emma Doyle.
"The no-bid contract awarded to Mr. Fuentes definitely has our full attention," Connolly told Yahoo News after the hearing. Connolly, who heads the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations, vowed that even if HHS did not investigate the Fuentes contract, congressional Democrats would do so themselves. During the hearing itself, he said there was "something suspicious" about the whole affair.