Commerce's Ross Taps Deputy General Counsel as New Staff Chief

(Bloomberg) -- Michael Walsh Jr., deputy general counsel at the Commerce Department, will be Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s new chief of staff.

Ross praised Walsh as “a capable and effective leader” in an email to staff on Tuesday announcing his new role.

Walsh joined the cabinet agency from the law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he was a partner specializing in representing corporate clients in securities cases and Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions.

Ross’s current chief of staff, Wendy Teramoto, described by officials as a key behind-the-scenes ambassador between the secretary and other high-level administration players, is stepping down this fall after working closely with Ross for more than 20 years.

Teramoto has been deeply involved in Ross’s work on China, trade, tariffs and other trade issues, as well as Ivanka Trump’s workforce policy advisory board. She also has worked closely with foreign counterparts, particularly from China and Mexico, administration officials said.

Walsh received his law degree from Columbia University and his bachelor’s degree from Boston College, according to a biography on the Commerce Department website.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Mike Dorning, John Harney

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