A Lackawanna County native will serve as a top aide in President Donald Trump’s Department of the Treasury.
Trump named Alexandra Preate as senior counselor to Scott Bessent, his treasury secretary nominee.
The Senate is widely expected to confirm Bessent within weeks. Preate’s appointment does not require Senate confirmation.
In a statement issued Thursday, Trump called Preate “an accomplished executive in public relations” and said she “has worked closely with former director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow, as well as my long-time economic advisors, Dr. Arthur B. Laffer and Stephen Moore.”
Kudlow is a former CNBC host for whom Preate did public relations. Laffer, once a top aide to President Ronald Reagan, is well-known for developing the Laffer Curve, a basis for the trickle-down theory of economics. Moore is a conservative writer and commentator who co-founded the Club for Growth. Preate also served as a spokeswoman for former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon and is a close friend of Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump adviser.
Preate, who grew up in the Abingtons, is a daughter of former state Attorney General Ernie Preate Jr., also a former Lackawanna County district attorney, and Sally Bohlin.
Alexandra Preate declined to comment.
Her father said she’s developed a close relationship with the Trump family.
“No, I wasn't surprised, because she's working for the president elect and his family and his campaign for better part of a decade now, and she's spent most of October and November and part of December down at Mar-a-Lago meeting with the various officials,” Ernie Preate said.
Preate said he’s proud of his daughter, but she earned the job.
“She's been through a lot of wars and battles because of her association with the president and Steve Bannon,” he said. “She'll do a great job for the Secretary and for the administration.”
