24-year-old assistant in the Trump administration
Taylor Weyeneth, 24, was hired to the White House straight out of college. A little over a year later, he was appointed deputy chief of staff for the National Drug Enforcement Administration, responsible for tackling the opioid crisis.
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| Taylor Weyeneth, Deputy Chief of Staff of the US National Drug Control Policy Office, poses for a photo with US President Donald Trump. Photo: Taylor Weyeneth/Linkedin |
According toWashington PostTaylor Weyeneth's rise began in 2016 when he was hired to work in the president's office, a year after graduating from St John's University (New York). According to Weyeneth's Linkedin social networking page, his only previous work experience was as an assistant on Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
According to a source familiar with the White House, Weyeneth was initially hired for an administrative position, where he would be responsible for liaison between the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the outside world. The reason he was hired by the agency was his passion and commitment to the issue of drug abuse and opioid addiction.
After more than a year on the job, Weyeneth was quickly promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff at ONDCP. He is now said to be performing some duties equivalent to that of Acting Chief of Staff at ONDCP.
According toWashington Post, the reason for Weyneth's quick appointment is said to be because ONDCP has been lacking key personnel for the past year. Spokesman William Eason said that at least seven appointees have left, including the positions of chief counsel and chief of staff.
Washington PostAn internal memo dated January 3 from Richard Baum, acting director of ONDCP, said the agency was experiencing staffing shortages in several key positions. As a result, Baum and Weyeneth will temporarily share responsibilities related to the position of ONDCP’s chief of staff.
Weyeneth is currently leading the charge to help the U.S. government deal with the opioid crisis, a job typically reserved for candidates with extensive policy experience or lawyers with some seniority.
According to a source from the White House, Weyeneth is currently taking a master's course in political science, specializing in campaign and election management at Fordham University (New York).
Last August, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a national emergency. According toNYT, prescription painkillers and narcotics contributed to 60,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2016, up 19% from the previous year. The number of Americans who have died from opioid abuse has quadrupled since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Between 2000 and 2015, more than 500,000 people died from drug overdoses, the majority of which involved opioids.
