President-elect Donald Trump announced in a press release Wednesday that SUNY Plattsburgh alumnus Dan Scavino will return to the White House to serve as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff. Trump will be inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
Scavino ’98 was Trump’s social media director from 2017 to 2021 and deputy chief of staff for communications from 2020 to 2021. He also served as a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 campaign.
The announcement stated that Stephen Miller, James Blair and Taylor Budowich will join Scavino on the White House senior staff.
“I know they will serve the American people honorably in the White House. They will continue to work hard to Make America Great Again in their respective new roles,” the release quotes Trump.
The press release notes that Scavino is one of Trump’s “longest-serving” and “most trusted” advisers.
While in high school, Scavino was selected as Trump’s golf caddy at the Briar Hall Country Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York, which Trump later purchased in 1996.
Scavino studied communications at SUNY Plattsburgh and was selected by Professor Emeritus Peter Ensel for the Advisory Board of the Communications Department.
Scavino’s former advisor, Shakuntala Rao, told the Press-Republican in 2016 that he was one of the “best students” in the department and “focused, ambitious and had an excellent work ethic.”
After graduating, Scavino worked for Coca-Cola and the Swiss pharmaceutical company Galderma.
In 2004, Trump hired Scavino as assistant manager of the renamed Trump National Golf Club Westchester, where they originally met. Scavino eventually earned the rank of general manager and executive vice president.
Scavino participated in Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2015, helping the businessman become the first commander in chief with no formal political background.
The Plattsburgh graduate is Trump’s longest-serving aide, and a 2019 Politico report called Scavino “indispensable” to Trump.
