Carlos Trujillo (born February 25, 1983) is an American lobbyist and government affairs professional who previously served as

United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States The following is a list of people who have served as United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States, or the full title, "United States Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States", with the rank and status of ...

. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 until his appointment as ambassador. In March 2020, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

announced his intent to nominate Trujillo to be the next

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs within the United States Department of State, the foreign affairs department of the United States federal government. The A ...

and a member of the board of directors of the

Inter-American Foundation The Inter-American Foundation, or IAF, is an independent agency of the United States government that funds community-led development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was created through the Foreign Assistance Act of 1969Senate Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...

for his assistant secretary nomination. Consideration of his board membership nomination stalled in committee. On January 3, 2021, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

History

Trujillo was born on Long Island in New York and moved to the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 1988. He attended

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

, graduating with a degree in business administration in 2004, and then the

Florida State University College of Law Florida State University College of Law is the law school of Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. The law school borders the southeast quadrant of the University's campus, near the Donald L. Tucker Center, an arena and part of ...

, receiving his Juris Doctor in 2007. Following graduation, he served as an assistant state attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, primarily dealing with felony prosecutions. He then started his own legal practice, Trujillo Vargas LLC which has now evolved to Trujillo Vargas Gonzalez Hevia LLP.

Florida House of Representatives

When incumbent State Representative Marcelo Llorente was unable to seek re-election in 2010 due to term limits, Trujillo ran to succeed him in the 116th District, which included The Hammocks and Kendale Lakes, suburbs of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

in central Miami-Dade County. He faced former State Representative Carlos A. Manrique, Francisco Amador, and Whilly Bermudez in the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

primary, and he emerged narrowly victorious with 34% of the vote. Trujillo advanced to the general election, where he encountered only write-in opposition, winning with 97% of the vote. In 2012, following the reconfiguration of state legislative districts, Trujillo ran for re-election in the 105th District, which contained territory that was radically different from what he had previously represented in the 116th District. Trujillo kept some of the precincts that he had represented in the

suburbs, and expanded to include vast amounts of rural

Collier County Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from Ev ...

and Miami-Dade County, stretching from Doral to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He was challenged in the

primary by Paul Crespo, who presented a serious challenge. Trujillo racked up the endorsements of former Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...

and the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and ended up defeating Crespo with 56% of the vote. He advanced to the general election, where he once again encountered only write-in opposition, and won his second term with nearly 100% of the vote. In February 2018, he voted against a motion to consider an assault weapon ban.

United States ambassador to the OAS

In October 2017, Trujillo was chosen by President

to serve as

U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States The following is a list of people who have served as United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States, or the full title, "United States Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States", with the rank and status of ...

. Trujillo was confirmed by the Senate by a voice vote on March 22, 2018, and resigned from the Florida House the following day. He presented his credentials to OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro on April 5.

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives – Carlos Trujillo
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Trujillo, Carlos 1983 births Living people Spring Hill College alumni Florida State University College of Law alumni Florida lawyers Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Permanent Representatives of the United States to the Organization of American States American politicians of Cuban descent 2016 United States presidential electors 21st-century American politicians Politicians from Miami Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida