Pubdate: Sat, 20 Jan 2018
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
Copyright: 2018 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Contact: P.O. Box 1909, Seattle, WA 98111-1909
Website: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/408
Author: Robert O'Harrow Jr.

TRUMP'S 24-YEAR-OLD DRUG POLICY APPOINTEE WAS LET GO AT LAW FIRM AFTER 
HE 'JUST DIDN'T SHOW'

President Donald Trump speaks after signing into law the bipartisan
Interdict Act, during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House
in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.

Reince Priebus resigned on July 28 and was replaced by John F.
Kelly.

K.T. McFarland was asked to resign on April 9 but became the U.S.
ambassador to Singapore.

James Comey was fired on May 9, amid his investigation of Trump's
campaign and if it had ties to Russia's meddling.

Mike Dubke resigned on May 30, amid frustrations over the
investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Katie Walsh resigned on March 30 for an advisory position with
political groups that support President Trump.

Trump's 24-year-old drug policy appointee was let go at law firm after
he 'just didn't show'

A former Trump campaign worker appointed at age 23 to a top position
in the White House's drug policy office had been let go from a job at
a law firm because he repeatedly missed work, a partner at the firm
said.

While in college, late in 2014 or early in 2015, Taylor Weyeneth began
working as a legal assistant at the New York firm O'Dwyer & Bernstien.
He was "discharged" in August 2015, partner Brian O'Dwyer said in an
interview.

"We were very disappointed in what happened," O'Dwyer said. He said
that he hired Weyeneth in part because both men were involved in the
same fraternity, and that the firm invested time training him for what
was expected to be a longer relationship. Instead, he said, Weyeneth
"just didn't show."

In a resume initially submitted to the government, Weyeneth said he
worked at the firm until April 2016. When an FBI official called as
part of a background check in January 2017, the firm said Weyeneth had
left eight months earlier than the resume indicated, O'Dwyer said.

A spokesman at the Office of National Drug Control Policy - where
Weyeneth, 24, is deputy chief of staff - said Weyeneth was unavailable
for comment. In replies to The Post, the White House did not address
questions about Weyeneth's work at the law firm.

An administration official previously said that Weyeneth revised his
resume to correct "errors." In a revised resume, Weyeneth said he
worked at the law firm from November 2014 to August 2015. Details of
his time there and the circumstances of his departure have not been
previously reported.

A Jan. 14 Post story detailing Weyeneth's rapid rise at the drug
policy office, or ONDCP, prompted 10 Democratic senators on Wednesday
to write President Donald Trump. The lawmakers, including Sens. Maggie
Hassan, D-N.H., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., expressed "extreme
concern" about Weyeneth's promotion and unfilled drug policy jobs.

"You have claimed that the opioid epidemic is a top priority for your
administration, but the personnel you have staffing these key agencies
- - and the lack of nominees to head them - is cause for deep concern,"
the letter said.

Following his graduation, in May 2016, Weyeneth served as a paid
member of Trump's presidential campaign and then as a volunteer with
the transition, arranging housing for senior administration officials.
He worked closely with Rick Dearborn, now White House deputy chief of
staff.

Weyeneth's only professional experience after college and before
becoming an appointee was working on the Trump campaign and transition.

After being contacted by The Post about Weyeneth's qualifications and
inconsistencies on his resumes, an administration official on Jan. 12
said Weyeneth will return to the position he initially held at the
agency, as a White House liaison. The official said that Weyeneth has
been primarily performing administrative work, rather than making
policy decisions, and that he had "assumed additional duties and an
additional title following staff openings."

On his resumes, Weyeneth revised dates relating to job assignments,
and he cut the number of hours he claimed he had volunteered at a
monastery in Queens while at St. Johns from 275 to 150. A third
resume, provided by the White House, does not mention volunteer work
at the monastery.

Weyeneth left unchanged a portion of his resumes that indicated he had
a master's degree from Fordham University, though a university
official told The Post he has not finished his coursework. Weyeneth
also left unchanged an assertion that he served for three years as
vice president of Kappa Sigma. That claim was contradicted by a
fraternity spokesman, Nathan Glanton, who told The Post that Weyeneth
was vice president for only 18 months.

Weyeneth was named to the liaison job at ONDCP in March, after a brief
stint at the Treasury Department. In the months following, seven of 11
political appointees assigned to the office left, including a person
who was serving as general counsel and acting chief of staff. Amid the
turnover and vacancies, Weyeneth was promoted to deputy chief of staff
in July, according to his LinkedIn page. He also assumed some of the
chief of staff's responsibilities, internal documents show.

An administration official said Friday that Weyeneth remains deputy
chief of staff as the search for a replacement continues.
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MAP posted-by: Matt