Robert Lighthizer | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait of Lighthizer, 2017 | |
| 18th United States Trade Representative | |
| In office May 15, 2017 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Jeffrey Gerrish C.J. Mahoney Dennis Shea |
| Preceded by | Michael Froman |
| Succeeded by | Katherine Tai |
| 1st United States Deputy Trade Representative | |
| In office April 15, 1983 – August 16, 1985 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Alan Woods |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Emmet Lighthizer October 11, 1947 Ashtabula, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Georgetown University (BA, JD) |
Robert Emmet Lighthizer (/ˈlaɪthaɪzər/; born October 11, 1947) is an American attorney and government official who was the U.S. Trade Representative in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021.
After he graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1973, Lighthizer joined the firm of Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C. He left the firm in 1978 to work as chief minority counsel and later staff director and chief of staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance under Chairman Bob Dole. In 1983, Robert Lighthizer was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for President Ronald Reagan. In 1985, Lighthizer joined the Washington office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as a partner and led the firm's international trade group. On January 3, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Lighthizer as his U.S. Trade Representative. Lighthizer was confirmed by the Senate on May 11, 2017, by a vote of 82–14.
Lighthizer was an architect of American trade policy during Trump's first presidency. A protectionist and a trade skeptic, his policies are oriented toward protection of manufacturing in the United States. Lighthizer played a key role in the administration's renegotiation of NAFTA and the United States' trade war with China. Many of these trade policies have been preserved, and in some cases extended, by the Biden administration.[1]
- ^ Bade, Gavin (August 4, 2024). "Trump's trade guru plots an even more disruptive second term". Politico.