Mary Elizabeth Taylor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Elizabeth Taylor
Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs
In office October 12, 2018 – June 18, 2020
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Mary Kirtley Waters
Succeeded by	Naz Durakoğlu
Personal details
Born	Washington D.C., United States
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Bryn Mawr College (BA)

Mary Elizabeth Taylor is an American political aide who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs from 2018 to 2020. She resigned on June 18, 2020 in protest of the handling of the George Floyd protests by President Donald Trump. She previously served in the Trump White House as the Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs of Nominations.

Early life and education

Taylor is a native of Washington, D.C. She earned a degree in political science from Bryn Mawr College and interned at Koch Industries as a college student.

Career

Taylor is sworn in by Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch as the Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on December 10, 2018.

Early political career

Taylor began her career in Capitol Hill as an intern for the United States Senate in July 2006. She also worked in the Senate Republican cloakroom as a Senior Cloakroom Assistant. Taylor previously worked as an aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Trump administration

Taylor served in the Trump White House as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. In March 2017, she gained social media attention for her presence at the confirmation hearings of Neil Gorsuch as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Taylor worked on Gorsuch's nomination team when he met with U.S. senators before the confirmation hearings. In December 2018, Gorsuch officiated at Taylor's formal swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Department of State.

In 2018, she was listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Department of State

In 2018, Taylor was nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs. Confirmed unanimously by the Senate in October 2018, Taylor became the first African-American woman and youngest to serve in this role, and the only African-American senior official in the State Department.

Resignation

On June 18, 2020, Taylor submitted her resignation from the State Department in response to President Donald Trump's handling of protests following the murder of George Floyd.