Peter Navarro will be the senior counselor for trade and manufacturing in the second administration led by Donald Trump. Making the announcement was the president-elect himself, with a post on his Truth Social. The decision comes just months after Navarro, 75, was released from prison after serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.
He was found guilty after ignoring a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot. A federal judge in Washington convicted him on two counts of contempt, and in March he was taken into custody at a federal penitentiary in Florida to serve a four-month sentence. At the time, he claimed he did not cooperate with the House Committee on Investigation because Trump had invoked executive privilege.
In July, on the same day he was released, he spoke at the Republican National Convention, denouncing the “Department of Injustice” in his speech. Navarro previously served as Donald Trump’s trade adviser during his first term in the White House.
Yesterday, in a post released on his Truth profile the president-elect reiterated, “I am pleased to announce that Peter Navarro, a man who was treated horribly by the Deep State, or whatever else you would like to call it, will serve as my Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing. His mission will be to help successfully advance and communicate the Trump Manufacturing, Tariff, and Trade Agendas.”
In the past, Navarro has strenuously defended protectionist policies while advocating a hard line on trade with China.
Also on Truth, Wednesday, Trump named Daniel P. Driscoll as secretary of the Army, Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator, and Michael William Faulkender as deputy secretary of the US Department of the Treasury. Trump also selected Adam Boehler as special envoy for hostage affairs. The MAGA leader also appointed Kelly Loeffler as administrator of the Small Business Administration, an agency tasked with providing loans and grants to small businesses, while asking attorney Michael Whatley to return to chair the Republican National Committee.
Finally, also on Wednesday, Trump announced the appointment of David Warrington as White House counsel, a post that seemed destined for Bill McGinley. In turn, the latter will instead work for the new DOGE, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
