Kush Desai joins White House as Deputy Press Secretary

Former Indian American journalist will assist in overseeing the White House’s messaging strategy and public communications

By Arun Kumar

Kush Desai, a former Indian American journalist, who helped the Trump campaign as Deputy Battleground States & Pennsylvania Communications Director at the Republican National Committee, has been appointed as Deputy Press Secretary at the White House.

Desai, who is fluent in both English and his native Gujarati, earlier served as Deputy Communications Director for the 2024 Republican National Convention and Communications Director for the Republican Party of Iowa.

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Desai’s appointment by President Donald Trump was announced with other key appointments to the White House Office of Communications, Public Liaison, and Cabinet Affairs on Jan. 24. These positions will be overseen by Taylor Budowich, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Public Liaison, and the Cabinet Secretary, the White House stated.

Earlier, Trump appointed Steven Cheung as Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director and Karoline Leavitt as Assistant to the President and Press Secretary.

Desai’s professional journey began as a reporter for The Daily Caller, where he worked from July 2017 to March 2018. In April 2018, he joined the Republican National Committee (RNC) as a research analyst, a role he held until February 2019.

His upward trajectory continued within the RNC, where he became Director of Vetting in March 2019. By 2021, he was appointed Iowa Communications Director, and in December 2022, he took on the role of Communications Director for the Republican Party of Iowa. He served in that capacity until January 2024.

During the presidential campaign, Desai focused on messaging and building narratives for crucial battleground states. His efforts were said to be particularly significant in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Desai, a Dartmouth College graduate, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ivy League institution in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he studied from 2013 to 2017. During his time at Dartmouth, Desai earned the prestigious James O. Freedman Presidential Research Scholarship, a program that allows students to gain research experience by working with Dartmouth faculty.