Zachary Fuentes
{{short description|American political advisor and businessman}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = ZacharyFuentes.jpg
| office = White House Principal Deputy Chief of Staff
| president = Donald Trump
| term_start = June 6, 2018
| term_end = January 2, 2019
| predecessor = James W. Carroll
| successor = Emma Doyle
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|36|2018|12|20}}
| birth_place =
| party = Republican
| spouse =
| children =
| education = United States Coast Guard Academy (BS)
| alma_mater =
| occupation =
| profession =
| website =
| nickname =
| allegiance = {{flag|United States}}
| branch = {{Flag|United States Coast Guard}}
}}
Zachary D. Fuentes is an American political advisor and businessman who served as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff in the first Trump Administration. He formerly served as a senior advisor and assistant to John F. Kelly, while he served as White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of Homeland Security.{{cite web |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-appointments-executive-office-president/ |title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President |date=June 6, 2018 |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |access-date=June 23, 2018 }}{{cite news |title=Chief of staff Kelly builds out his West Wing team |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/06/john-kelly-west-wing-team-242379 |first=Nolan D. |last=McCaskill |date=June 9, 2017 |work=Politico |access-date=June 23, 2018}} He left the Trump administration in January 2019.
Education
A member of the United States Coast Guard, Fuentes earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Coast Guard Academy.{{Cite web |url=https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Portals/10/CG-1/psc/rpm/RPM-1/2019_Register_of_Officers_(Print).pdf?ver=2019-07-25-094254-113#page=62 |title=REGISTER OF OFFICERS - 2019 |publisher=United States Coast Guard |page=57}}
Career
In November 2018, Fuentes was blamed for the decision that Trump would not be able to fly or drive in a motorcade to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial as part of the First World War centenary.{{Cite web |title=Report: Trump Decided to Skip Cemetery Visit, Blamed Aides for Fallout |work=The Daily Beast |date=14 November 2018 |access-date=27 May 2020 |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-decided-to-skip-cemetery-visit-blamed-aides-for-fallout-report |quote=By Tuesday, Trump was still fuming about the incident and had complained to aides that he looked "terrible," the Post reports. He also reportedly blamed his chief of staff's office, particularly Fuentes, for not warning him that canceling the visit would prompt widespread criticism. }}
The New York Times reported on December 20, 2018, that Fuentes, an officer on active duty with the United States Coast Guard, had discussed inserting a provision into a House bill that would have allowed him to take advantage of a Coast Guard early retirement program that had previously expired. Homeland Security officials began pressing Congress to reinstate the provision in November 2018. It was abruptly withdrawn from a bill after reporters had inquired about it in December.
After Kelly's exit from the white house was announced on December 8, 2018, President Donald Trump rejected Fuentes as being named interim chief of staff. Fuentes told colleagues he was planning to "hide out" in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for six months to accomplish the retirement program minimum career length.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/us/politics/zachary-fuentes-coast-guard-retirement.html |title=A Top Aide's Exit Plan Raises Eyebrows in the White House |first1=Maggie |last1=Haberman |author-link1=Maggie Haberman |first2=Nicholas |last2=Fandos |author-link2=Nicholas Fandos |date=December 20, 2018 |access-date=December 21, 2018 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |first=Rachel |last=Maddow |author-link=Rachel Maddow |title=Normal Corruption Scandal Highlights Distorted News Climate (video; 1:32-11:05 min.) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdkyP5PI-ZU |via=Youtube |work=MSNBC |date=December 21, 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/white-house-staffer-tried-hide-out-six-months-1268313 |title=White House Staffer Devised Plan to 'Hide Out' for 6 Months While Still Getting Paid: Report |first=Alexandra |last=Hutzler |date=21 December 2018|access-date=21 December 2018|work=Newsweek}}{{Cite magazine |title="This Was a Humiliation": After Firing Kelly, Trump Has No Plan B |last=Sherman |first=Gabriel |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=10 December 2018 |access-date=27 May 2020 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/12/after-firing-john-kelly-trump-has-no-plan-b}} In the White House, Fuentes' nicknames included "Zotus", "deputy president", and "prime minister".{{Cite web|last1=Haberman|first1=Maggie|last2=Rogers|first2=Katie|date=June 10, 2018|title='Drama, Action, Emotional Power': As Exhausted Aides Eye the Exits, Trump Is Re-energized|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/10/us/politics/trump-turnover.html|access-date=27 May 2020|work=The New York Times|department=White House Memo}}
On January 2, 2019, Fuentes' White House title changed to Assistant to The President and Senior Adviser to the Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney. This was reported as a sign of Fuentes' expected departure from the White House.{{cite news |last1=Cook |first1=Nancy |title=Mulvaney eggs Trump on in shutdown fight |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/04/mick-mulvaney-trump-government-shutdown-white-house-border-wall-1080820 |access-date=June 27, 2019 |work=Politico |date=January 4, 2019 |language=en}}{{Cite web |first1=Annie |last1=Karni |first2=Maggie |last2=Haberman |title=The Many Ways to Leave the White House |department=White House Memo |work=The New York Times |date=January 29, 2019 |access-date=27 May 2020 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/29/us/politics/white-house-firings-resign.html |quote=Some aides have tried to disappear across the street. Zachary D. Fuentes, the deputy chief of staff, is still on the payroll, even though the acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, brought in his own deputy, Emma Doyle.}}{{Cite web |title=Mulvaney says White House will find 'productive' work for staffer who allegedly pushed for early retirement plan |first=Emily |last=Birnbaum |work=The Hill |date=23 December 2018 |access-date=27 May 2020 |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/422675-mulvaney-says-white-house-will-find-productive-work-for-staffer}}
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Fuentes created the company Zach Fuentes LLC and received a $3 million contract from the Indian Health Service to provide protective face masks to hospitals in the Navajo Nation, 11 days after creating the company. Over 25% of the masks were reported to be unsuitable for medical use, and another 15% were of a type that was not requested.{{Cite web |title=Calls in Congress for probe on how former Trump aide won $3 million respirator contract |first=Alexander |last=Nazaryan |work=Yahoo! News |date=May 26, 2020 |access-date=27 May 2020 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/calls-in-congress-for-probing-how-former-trump-aide-won-3-million-respirator-contract-195401096.html |quote="The no-bid contract awarded to Mr. Fuentes definitely has our full attention," Connolly told Yahoo News after the hearing. Connolly, who heads the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations, vowed that even if HHS did not investigate the Fuentes contract, congressional Democrats would do so themselves. During the hearing itself, he said there was "something suspicious" about the whole affair.}}{{Cite web |first1=Yeganeh |last1=Torbati |first2=Derek |last2=Willis |title=The Feds Gave a Former White House Official $3 Million to Supply Masks to Navajo Hospitals. Some May Not Work. |work=Government Executive |date=May 24, 2020 |access-date=27 May 2020 |url=https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/05/feds-gave-former-white-house-official-3-million-supply-masks-navajo-hospitals-some-may-not-work/165627/}} US House of Representatives members Gerry Connolly and Ruben Gallego called for an investigation of the contract, and principal deputy inspector general Christi Grimm of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that the office would contact Connolly for more information on the matter.{{Cite web |first1=Yeganeh |last1=Torbati |title=Democratic Congressman Calls for Probe Into Former White House Official's $3 Million Mask Deal |work=ProPublica |date=May 26, 2020 |access-date=27 May 2020 |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/democratic-congressman-calls-for-probe-into-former-white-house-officials-3-million-mask-deal}} By July 2020, NPR reported that Congress was investigating the awarding of the contract to Fuentes's company.{{Cite web|title=Congress Is Investigating Contracts Tied To Mask And PPE Shortages|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/07/15/891122225/congress-is-investigating-contracts-tied-to-mask-and-ppe-shortages|access-date=2020-07-16|website=NPR.org|date=July 15, 2020 |language=en|last1=Temple-Raston |first1=Dina |last2=Benincasa |first2=Robert }}