Former Business Roundtable Executive New USTR General Counsel
Jennifer Thornton, who recently led the Business Roundtable's advocacy on trade policy, has joined the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as general counsel. Before going to the trade group that represents America's largest companies, she was trade counsel to Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., when they were in the minority on the House Ways and Means Committee.
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She previously was a litigator in USTR on investment issues, and served as a senior policy adviser to Deputy USTR Robert Holleyman II.
The administration has not yet nominated anyone for the deputy USTR positions for Europe and the Western Hemisphere and for Asia and Africa. The deputy USTR nominee, Joseph Barloon, who is the ambassador to the World Trade Organization, is awaiting a vote in the Senate.
Sam Scales, a senior adviser to the USTR, had been the primary liaison to the business community at USTR during the Trump administration, managing stakeholder engagement with USMCA, the China phase one agreement, and the Japan mini deal. He also talked to businesses about negotiations with the U.K. toward a free-trade deal. Before joining USTR, he was a lobbyist on trade at Ford.
USTR Jamieson Greer's chief of staff is Sam Mulopulos, who came from the House Ways and Means trade staff. Before working for the Republicans on the committee, he was the trade staffer for Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.