Rick Dearborn, former chief of staff to Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, is being eyed for a significant role in the White House as deputy chief of staff.
As reported by POLITICO, Dearborn frequently works out of New York City and is running the day-to-day transition efforts, which earned him the respect of several key Donald Trump family members, such as son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Sources close to the transition tell POLITICO that Dearborn has also had access to Trump’s inner circle for several months since joining the campaign.
Working in the White House, Dearborn — described as a well-liked guy and workaholic — will oversee the office of legislative affairs and collaborate with Cabinet secretaries, working alongside Joe Hagin and Katie Walsh, two long time D.C. operatives also working as deputy chiefs of staff. He is also respected by both anti-abortion activists and Heritage Foundation members for his serious conservative credentials — something many saw as a necessary component for the Trump campaign during the Republican primary.
Dearborn had served as assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs at the Energy Department under George W. Bush, and later as Sessions’ legislative director before becoming chief of staff. He also worked as an aide to former Republican Sen. Trent Lott, who now a top player on K Street.
For three years in the 1990s, Dearborn provided congressional relations for the Heritage Foundation, giving him a good working relationship with Heritage people now on the Trump transition.
