Reince Priebus
Reinhold Richard "Reince" Priebus[1] (/ˈraɪns ˈpriːbəs/ RYNSSE PREE-bəs;[2] born March 18, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician who served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2011 to 2017 and as White House chief of staff during the first six months of Donald Trump's presidency.
"Priebus" redirects here. For the German village, see Klein Priebus.
Reince Priebus
Raised in Wisconsin, Priebus worked as a clerk and graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1998. After working for law firm Michael Best, he was elected chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party in 2007. In 2009, Priebus became the general counsel for the Republican National Committee. He won the 2011 Republican National Committee chairmanship election. As chairman, Priebus frequently criticized the policies of president Barack Obama. He also presided over the Republican Party during the presidential elections of 2012 and 2016, when he opposed Donald Trump during the early stages of the primaries, but later supported him in the general election. He began serving as Trump's chief of staff in January 2017 until resigning in July of that year. Priebus, who had the shortest tenure of any non-interim chief of staff in American history,[3] drew controversy for his management style.[4][5][6]
Early life and legal career[edit]
Priebus was born on March 18, 1972, the son of Dimitra Pitsiladis and Richard Priebus. Born in Dover, New Jersey, he lived in Netcong, New Jersey, until his family moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, when he was seven years old.[7] His father is a former union electrician and his mother a real estate agent.[8] His father is of German and English descent and his mother is of Greek descent;[9] she was born to parents originally from Mytilene and Khartoum, since there was a sizable community of Greek settlers in Sudan at the time.[10]
At the age of 16, he volunteered for his first political campaign.[1] He attended Tremper High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, graduating in 1990.[11] After graduating from Tremper, he attended the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, where he majored in English and political science,[12] and joined the Delta Chi fraternity.[13] He graduated cum laude in 1994 and prior to that had been elected to serve as student body president.[12][14]
After graduation from Whitewater, Priebus served as a clerk for the Wisconsin State Assembly Education Committee.[12] He then enrolled at the University of Miami School of Law in Coral Gables, Florida.[12] While there, he worked as a clerk for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida,[15] and interned at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in California.[16]
In 1998, he graduated with a Juris Doctor degree cum laude[17] from the University of Miami, after serving as president of the law school student body.[18] He moved back to Wisconsin and became a member of the state bar.[12] Subsequently, he joined Wisconsin law firm Michael Best, where he became a partner in 2006,[11][12] practicing in the firm's litigation and corporate practice groups.[19][20] He currently serves as president and chief strategist at Michael Best and is also chairman of the Board of Advisors.[21]
RNC chairmanship (2011–2017)[edit]
First term[edit]
At the start of his first term as chairman of the RNC in January 2011, Priebus had inherited a $23 million debt from his predecessor Michael Steele, as well as severely strained relationships with "major donors".[31][32] Priebus stated that his goals for his leadership were to reduce the debt, rebuild the organization's finances and improve relationships with major donors and party leaders, as well as aiding Republican efforts in the 2012 presidential election. He aimed to develop a strong voter mobilization program, including improved voter registration and absentee ballot programs to identify unregistered voters and those who had not returned their ballots, using funds raised through his initial outreach to major donors.[32] By the end of 2011, Priebus had raised more than $88 million[33] and cut the RNC's debt to $11.8 million.[31]
In the 2012 presidential election, Priebus was a frequent critic of Obama and Democratic leaders.[34] Priebus appeared on such political talk shows as Meet the Press, Face the Nation, Fox News Sunday, and State of the Union with Candy Crowley.[35][36] He also continued to focus on rebuilding the RNC's finances by reaching out to donors, and at the end of the year the organization reported no debt.[37] After the Republican loss in the election, Priebus called for Republicans to embrace comprehensive immigration reform that would afford illegal immigrants in the U.S. legal status,[38] and ordered reviews of RNC operations, including the party's messaging to young people, women and Hispanics.[39] The analysis of the election cycle would include gathering feedback from numerous volunteers and staffers who were involved at various levels.[40][41] He began development of a political plan including a long-term strategy to reach demographic groups that had voted mainly Democratic in the November 2012 elections. The plan was labeled "The Growth and Opportunity Project".[37]
On January 25, 2013, Priebus was elected to serve another term.[42] He ran unopposed, and 166 of the 168 RNC members voted to re-elect him.[43]
Personal life[edit]
In 1999, Priebus married Sally L. Sherrow, whom he met in church when they were teenagers.[12][17][96] They have two children. Priebus is an archon of the Greek Orthodox Church.[8][97][98] He has an older sister, Marie, who was a physician in the U.S. Navy. Marie is a graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin.