Trump names officials to Intergovernmental Affairs Office
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his appointments to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, the executive branch’s primary contact point with state, county, tribal and other local governments.
The president’s appointees include Alex Meyer, who’ll serve as deputy assistant to the president and IGA’s director. Meyer was deputy political director for the president’s 2024 campaign.
Other appointees include a variety of additional staff who worked on for Trump’s 2020 and 2024 presidential bids, including Jared Borg, whom Trump has named as IGA’s deputy director.
Christine Serrano Glassner, who last year ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate, representing New Jersey, will serve as deputy director for local and tribal governments.
Connor Reardon, who served as the Pennsylvania state director for the Republican National Convention, will serve as an associate director at IGA.
Finley Varughese, a former programming and political manager at the RNC, will be IGA’s coordinator.
Elizabeth McAlindon, who served as chief of staff for Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., will be staff assistant at IGA.
Other Trump presidential campaign directors appointed to IGA include Chase Wilson, Michael Silvio, Sam Martinez and Hope Moreland.
Under former President Joe Biden, the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs assisted state and local governments on a variety of issues, including response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provided resources and advice as states sought funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, including approximately $45 billion for broadband and $1 billion for cybersecurity improvements.
Under Biden, the office also regularly met with groups like the National Association of Counties, the National Governors Association and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
In February 2023, Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris invited governors to the White House, where both spoke on the importance of coordination between the federal, state and local levels of government.
“From the very first days of our administration, during the height of the pandemic, I recall the many meetings by Zoom that we had with so many of you who are here, where you gave us a very accurate sense of what you needed and what the people of your state needed,” Harris said.
She recalled some of the wishes of states, including not only support for the immediate needs brought on by the health crisis, but for longstanding issues pertaining to physical infrastructure like roads and bridges, the economy and broadband networks.
