24-year-old assistant in the Trump administration

Taylor Weyeneth, Deputy Chief of Staff of the US National Drug Control Policy, takes a photo with US President Donald Trump. Photo: Taylor Weyeneth/Linkedin

According toWashington PostTaylor Weyeneth's rise to power 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 site, his only previous work experience was as an assistant in 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 liaising with 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 problem of opioid addiction and drug abuse.

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 of the duties equivalent to the ONDCP's acting Chief of Staff.

According toWashington Post, the reason Weyneth was appointed so quickly is said to be because ONDCP has been lacking key personnel for the past year. Spokesman William Eason said that at least 7 people appointed have left, including the positions of chief counsel and chief of staff.

Washington PostAn internal memo dated January 3 by Richard Baum, acting director of ONDCP, said the agency is experiencing staffing shortages in several key positions. Therefore, Mr. Baum and Weyeneth will temporarily share responsibilities related to the position of ONDCP chief of staff.

Weyeneth is currently in charge of helping the US government deal with the opioid crisis, a job usually reserved for candidates with extensive policymaking experience or lawyers with a certain level of seniority.

According to a White House source, Weyeneth is currently taking a master's degree 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.NYT, prescription painkillers and narcotics contributed to 60,000 overdose deaths in the US in 2016, a 19% increase from the previous year. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that since 1999, the number of Americans dying from opioid abuse has quadrupled. Between 2000 and 2015, more than 500,000 people died from drug overdoses, the majority of which involved opioids.