Matt Schlapp

Matthew Aaron "Matt" Schlapp (born December 18, 1967) is an American political activist and lobbyist who is chairman of the American Conservative Union,[1] the oldest conservative lobbying organization in the country. He leads the lobbying firm of Cove Strategies.[2] He is also a Fox News political contributor.

Matt Schlapp
Chairman of the American Conservative Union
Assumed office
June 19, 2014
Preceded byAl Cardenas
White House Director of Political Affairs
In office
May 23, 2003 – February 2005
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byKen Mehlman
Succeeded bySara Taylor
Personal details
Born
Matthew Aaron Schlapp

(1967-12-18) December 18, 1967
Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Mercedes Schlapp
EducationUniversity of Notre Dame (BA)
Wichita State University (MA)

Schlapp was President George W. Bush’s deputy assistant and political director during Bush's first term.[3] He is married to Mercedes Schlapp, who was President Donald Trump's Director of Strategic Communications.

Early life and education

Raised in Wichita, Kansas, Matt Schlapp is the son of Susan Schlapp, a former city councilwoman who, after eight years of service on the Wichita City Council (2003-2011), became senior constituent liaison for the Kansas Department of Commerce under Governor Sam Brownback.[4][5]

Schlapp's early schooling began at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Wichita, and in 1986, he graduated from Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School.[6] He earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame, and went on to earn a Master's degree in public policy from Wichita State University.[3]

Political career

Schlapp began his political career in 1994, and worked five years as a press secretary, campaign manager, and chief of staff for Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS). He also worked on the 2000 political campaign of George W. Bush, serving as a regional political director with oversight of Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas and Oklahoma.

During the George W. Bush administration, he served as political director, and advised the President, Vice President, members of the cabinet, senior White House staff and had extensive contact with members of Congress and federal agencies.[7]

In 2004, Schlapp became a lobbyist at Koch Industries, headquartered in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas. In his role as vice president of federal affairs at Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC, he directed federal public policy strategies on environmental and energy policies, financial markets, legal reform, and international and domestic tax issues.

On June 19, 2014, Schlapp was unanimously elected chairman of the American Conservative Union.

In 2020, Schlapp made controversial comments regarding the George Floyd protests that began on May 26. He alleged that Black Lives Matter was "...hostile to families, capitalism, cops, unborn life and gender." As part of his lobbying work, Schlapp had been paid $200,000 per year by Verizon and Abbott Labs, and $120,000 a year by Comcast. Due to his remarks, Verizon ended his contract in June 2020,[8] Abbott Labs came under criticism for using Cove Strategies and Schlapp as a lobbyist despite Abbott's professed commitment to social justice, and consequently cut its ties with Schlapp.[9] Comcast followed suit.[10]

Personal life

Schlapp married Mercedes (Mercy) Viana Schlapp, whom he met while they both worked at the White House, where she was the director of specialty media.[11] They co-founded Cove Strategies, a communications and political consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia.[12] From September 2017 to July 2019, she served as Director of Strategic Communications in the Trump administration. Since July 2019, she has worked on the Trump 2020 re-election campaign.[13]

The couple have five daughters.[12]

References
  1. "Matt Schlapp bio from The American Conservative Union homepage". Archived from the original on 2014-12-30. Retrieved 2015-03-25.
  2. "Meet the Schlapps, Washington's Trump-Era 'It Couple'". Retrieved 2018-09-29.
  3. "Biography from Cove Strategies". Archived from the original on February 17, 2016.
  4. Behlmann, Emily (April 12, 2011). "With changing of the guard, Schlapp takes Department of Commerce job"". Wichita Business Journal. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  5. Jacobs, Jeremy P. (April 9, 2009). "Pompeo to run for Tiahrt's seat". The Hill. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  6. "School News, September 17, 2010". Catholic Diocese of Wichita. September 17, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  7. Top Bush Political Aid to Depart, UPI, February 1, 2005. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  8. A Schlapp in the face, Popular Information, Judd Legum, June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  9. Abbott Labs Cuts Ties With GOP Lobbyist Matt Schlapp, The Street, Tony Owusu, June 24, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  10. Comcast Cuts Ties to Lobbyist Critical of Black Lives Matter, Bloomberg News, Gerry Smith, June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  11. "Matt Schlapp biography video from The American Conservative Union YouTube Channel".
  12. Axios (2018-05-01). "Meet the Schlapps, Washington's "it couple"". Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  13. Haberman, Maggie; Karni, Annie (2019-07-01). "Mercedes Schlapp Leaving White House Press Office to Join Trump Campaign". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ken Mehlman		 Director of the Office of Political Affairs
2003–2005		 Succeeded by
Sara Taylor
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