Tevi David Troy is a best-selling presidential historian and the former United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (August 2007 - January 2009) during the

Presidency of George W. Bush George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic i ...

. He also served as a senior White House aide in the George W. Bush administration from March 2005 to July 2007. Troy founded the American Health Policy Institute and served as its CEO from 2014 to 2018. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the

Bipartisan Policy Center The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that promotes bipartisanship. The organization aims to combine ideas from both the Republican and Democratic parties to address challenges in the U.S. BPC focuses on is ...

Personal history

Troy is the son of Elaine Troy and Bernard Dov Troy of

Queens Village, New York Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose to the east, and Oakland Gardens to the north. ...

, and a brother of Gil Troy and Dan Troy. He is an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

and member of the Kemp Mill Synagogue in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ce ...

, where he lives with his wife, Kami ( née Pliskow) and their four children."Weddings: Kami Pliskow and Tevi Troy"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 15 August 1999, accessed 1 May 2007.

Education

Troy graduated from the Ramaz Upper School, a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

, college preparatory, private

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

Jewish day school located on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

; he earned a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

and an M.A and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

American Civilization The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...

from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

; and studied at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

Career

From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Troy served as the Policy Director for Senator

John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...

. From 1996 to 1998, Troy was Senior Domestic Policy Adviser and later Domestic Policy Director for the House Policy Committee, chaired by Christopher Cox. Beginning in August 2003, he served at the White House as Deputy Cabinet Secretary and Liaison to the Jewish communityMatthew E. Berger
"Bush Names Orthodox Adviser As New White House Jewish Liaison"
''

The Jewish Press ''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York, and geared toward the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. It describes itself as "America's Largest Independent Jewish Weekly". ''The Jewish Press'' has an online ...

'' 8 August 2003, accessed 30 April 2007.Cached version of "Q&A with Tevi Troy"

Orthodox Union. where he advocated for more intense Republican outreach to the American Jewish community noting that nearly 50 percent of Democratic donors are Jewish: "if you're going to take away some percentage of hosedonations to Obama, we're talking some serious money." After less than a year, in May 2004, Troy left the position of White House liaison to the Jewish community to work in the policy department of the 2004 Bush presidential campaign, at which time he was replaced by Noam NeusnerMatthew E. Berger
"Bush Speechwriter Noam Neusner Named White House’s Jewish Liaison"
, '' Jewish Telegraphic Agency'' (JTA) 18 May 2004, accessed 30 April 2007. (Neusner is the founder of the consulting fir
Neusner Communications
which specializes in "speechwriting, journalism, and corporate public relations," and its

" team member.)Nathan Guttman
"Top White House Posts Go to Jews"
, ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper ...

'' 25 April 2006, accessed 30 April 2007. (son of

Jacob Neusner Jacob Neusner (July 28, 1932 – October 8, 2016) was an American academic scholar of Judaism. He was named as one of the most published authors in history, having written or edited more than 900 books. Life and career Neusner was born in Hartfor ...

). As a member of the United States of America Mission to the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

, Troy was a member of the US delegation to a conference on antisemitism held in Berlin in April 2004. He was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Labor and a policy director in the Senate office of for Sen.

(R-MO), who later became Attorney General, an appointment which Troy supported enthusiastically in his article "My Boss the Fanatic" published in ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

''.Biography: "Tevi David Troy"
.Tevi Troy
"My Boss the Fanatic"
''

'' 29 January 2001, accessed 30 April 2007 (abstract; full article requires subscription; purchase); rpt. i
"An Office That Holds Bible Study Together...:
An Orthodox Jewish Staffer Lauds John Ashcroft's Inclusion of Minority Religions in his Senate Office", '' Beliefnet.com'', accessed 30 April 2007. Troy worked in the Bush administration White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy from March 2005 to July 2007 and was appointed in August 2007 as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services, where he remained until January 2009.

Dan Froomkin Dan Froomkin is the editor of Press Watch, an independent website previously known as White House Watch. He is a former senior writer and Washington editor for ''The Intercept''. Prior to that, he was a writer and editor for ''The Huffington Post' ...

"White House Watch: Inside the Real West Wing"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' 22 August 2006, accessed 25 April 2007. Troy also serves as a member of the

Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, formerly known as the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, is an organization of former high-ranking government officials that analyzes US capabilities and capacity to defend against biological threats. A ...

, a group that encourages and advocates changes to government policy to strengthen national

biodefense Biodefense refers to measures to restore biosecurity to a group of organisms who are, or may be, subject to biological threats or infectious diseases. Biodefense is frequently discussed in the context of biowar or bioterrorism, and is generall ...

. In order to address biological threats facing the nation, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense created a 33 step initiative for the U.S. Government to implement. Headed by former Senator Joe Lieberman and former Governor Tom Ridge, the Study Panel assembled in Washington D.C. for four meetings concerning current biodefense programs. The Study Panel concluded that the federal government had little to no defense mechanisms in case of a biological event. The Study Panel's final report, ''The National Blueprint for Biodefense'', proposes a string of solutions and recommendations for the U.S. Government to take, including items such as giving the Vice President authority over biodefense responsibilities and merging the entire biodefense budget. These solutions represent the Panel's call to action in order to increase awareness and activity for pandemic-related issues. From 2009 to 2022, Troy was a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute. From 2014 to 2018, He was the founder and CEO of the American Health Policy Institute. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the

Published works

Troy is the author of three books and more than 250 articles published in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''Commentary'', ''POLITICO'', ''

The Times Higher Education Supplement ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'', ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughou ...

'', ''

National Affairs ''National Affairs'' is a quarterly magazine in the United States about political affairs that was first published in September 2009. Its founding editor, Yuval Levin, and authors are typically considered to be conservative and right-wing. The m ...

'', ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "re ...

'', ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'', and ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...

'', and an article in ''

'' entitled "
My Boss the Fanatic
'", concerning "John Ashcroft's relations with the Jews on his staff." * ''Intellectuals and the American Presidency: Philosophers, Jesters, or Technicians?'' 2002; Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. Hardback ed. (May 2002; 280 pp.): ; . Paperback ed. (2003): ; .
"My Boss the Fanatic"
''

'' 29 January 2001. Accessed 30 April 2007 (abstract; full article requires subscription; purchase). Rpt. i
"An Office That Holds Bible Study Together...:
An Orthodox Jewish Staffer Lauds John Ashcroft's Inclusion of Minority Religions in his Senate Office", '' Beliefnet.com'', n.d. Accessed 30 April 2007, and o
Troy's website
* ''Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump'' 2020; Regnery History

References

External links

"Q&A with Tevi Troy"
conducted by Ari Fridman. ''The Commentator: Official Newspaper of Yeshiva College and Sy Syms School of Business'' 20 September 2004. (requires registration after first access.)
"White House Official Praises Wyman Institute"
Press release. '' David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies'' 29 May 2004.
Tevi Troy website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troy, Tevi David United States Department of Health and Human Services officials George W. Bush administration personnel Jewish American government officials Jewish American writers American Orthodox Jews 1967 births Living people Cornell University alumni Ramaz School alumni University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni New York (state) Republicans Maryland Republicans People from Kemp Mill, Maryland United States Deputy Secretaries of Health and Human Services American chief executives