How a 20-Something Eagle Scout Became One of Donald Trump's Top Trade Hands

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How a 20-Something Eagle Scout Became One of Donald Trump’s Top Trade Hands
As the Trump administration goes about revamping trade policy, a leading staffer comes under fire for his thin qualifications.
Lachlan Markay
Sam Stein
01.25.18 5:09 AM ET


As the Trump administration tees up a slew of highly aggressive new trade policies that could upend economic relations on several continents, experts outside the government and on the Hill are concerned over the team leading the charge.

More than a year into this presidency, the office at the USTR remains severely understaffed. The agency, technically a division of the White House, remains without a permanent deputy trade representative in key regions such as China and the Western Hemisphere. The Senate has yet to confirm ambassador to the World Trade Organization.

But beyond who is not there, it’s who is that has raised alarm.

Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative, is relying on a small group of relatively unseasoned officials to advance a complex agenda, including renegotiating landmark free trade deals and cracking down on allegedly unfair practices by China, Mexico, and other major global economic partners. None have drawn more scrutiny and attention within the trade policy community than G. Payne Griffin, Lighthizer’s deputy chief of staff.

Few, if anyone, in trade circles knew of Griffin prior to his appointment by Lighthizer. That’s because, prior to his appointment by Lighthizer, Griffin was not in trade circles. Griffin attended American University where, by all accounts, he was an exemplary student. He graduated with a bachelors in economics and political science in 2014 and made the Dean’s List. His first job out of college was as a staff assistant for Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL). By January 2015, he was a legislative correspondent for Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL).

Typically, a stint as an LC lends itself to higher-ranking jobs within a congressional office. But in Griffin’s case, those next steps were skipped. Sessions was the first and most prominent Senate endorser of then presidential candidate Donald Trump, which meant that once Trump won the election, he had heavy influence over staffing the administration.

In September 2016, a month before the campaign ended, Griffin was placed on the Trump presidential transition team’s “landing team” at the office of the United States Trade Representative. Shortly thereafter, Griffin—not even three years out of college—was appointed deputy chief of staff at USTR, one of the more powerful perches in U.S. trade policy.