Ray Washburne

Ray Willets Washburne is an American businessman, political fundraiser, and government official. He served as President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation from 2017 to 2019 and as a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board since 2019.

For the baseball player, see Ray Washburn.

Ray Washburne
President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
In office
September 5, 2017 – March 1, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byElizabeth Littlefield
Succeeded byDavid Bohigian (acting)
Personal details
Born1960 (age 60–61)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationSouthern Methodist University (BA)

Early life and education

Washburne was born in Dallas, Texas in 1960, and was raised in Highland Park, later graduating from Southern Methodist University. In 1997 he married Heather Hill, a descendant of H. L. Hunt.[1]

Business career

Washburne is a co-founder of the M Crowd Restaurant Group, owning forty-six restaurants, including the Mi Cocina and Taco Diner restaurant chains.[1][2] He also has real-estate developments in several states and is the CEO of Charter Holdings. In 2009, Washburne and his wife Heather, along with Stephen Summers and his spouse Elisa Summers, who is Heather's sister, bought the Highland Park Village, an upscale shopping center in Dallas, for $170 million.[1][2]

Political fundraising

Washburne was actively involved in raising money for George W. Bush's presidential campaigns in both 2000 and 2004, and in the following years continued to raise money for the Republican Party.[3] Later in the 2012 presidential election, he backed Mitt Romney, the Republican Party's nominee, and became the campaign's Texas co-chair, while also raising money.[4][5] Following the 2012 election, in which Romney was defeated, Washburne became the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, during which he raised $160 million for the party.

In 2015, he became a part of Chris Christie's 2016 campaign for president, serving as the finance director.[5] Christie subsequently conceded in the race, and after Donald Trump emerged as the Republican front-runner, Washburne raised money for Trump's campaign and became the vice chairman of the Trump Victory Committee, which acted as a bridge between the campaign and the RNC.[6][7]

In 2020, Washburne played a role in convincing Trump to call for restoring a tax break allowing corporations to fully deduct restaurant meal and entertainment costs.[8][9][10]

Overseas Private Investment Corporation

On June 5, 2017, President Trump nominated Washburne as president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.[11] The U.S. Senate confirmed him by voice vote on August 3, 2017.[12] He worked to increase the OPIC's funding and activities despite the Trump administration's previous plans to shut down the agency.[13][14][15]

In February 2019, Washburne announced he would resign as OPIC's head on March 1.[16][17]

President's Intelligence Advisory Board

In 2019, Washburne was appointed to the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.[18][19]

References
  1. Guinto, Joseph. "The New Emperor of Highland Park Village". D Magazine. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  2. Auer, Tonie. "Q&A With Highland Park Village Owner Ray Washburne". Bisnow. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  3. BARBARO, MICHAEL; HABERMAN, MAGGIE. "Bush Campaign's Demand for Fidelity Ruffles Some Republican Rivals". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  4. "Romney Camp Slow To Attract Former Bush Donors". NPR. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  5. Gillman, Todd. "Chris Christie nabs Ray Washburne as finance chief for 2016: report". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  6. Svitek, Patrick. "With Some Uncertainty, Texas Donors Begin Pitching in for Trump". Texas Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  7. "Trump Seeks to Install Christie Ally as Top Republican Party Fundraiser". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  8. Ballhaus, Richard Rubin, Andrew Restuccia and Rebecca (April 3, 2020). "This Coronavirus Tax Policy Idea Wasn't on the Table. Then Famous Chefs Called the President" – via www.wsj.com.
  9. "Calling Trump: When connections help steer virus supplies". AP NEWS. April 11, 2020.
  10. "Dr. Anthony Fauci tells Tucker Carlson he's certain efforts to slow coronavirus spread are having an impact". Fox News. March 19, 2020.
  11. Livingston, Abby. "Trump taps Dallas businessman Ray Washburne for administration post". Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  12. Kelly, Caroline (August 3, 2017). "Senate confirms Hutchison for NATO, Washburne for investment office". Dallas News. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  13. Saldinger, Adva (August 20, 2018). "Opinion | Poor Countries Have an Unlikely Ally Close to the White House" – via NYTimes.com.
  14. "U.S. development agency looks to boost funding to $60 billion". September 25, 2018 – via www.reuters.com.
  15. Evans, Garrett (October 24, 2017). "Head of OPIC says it's here to stay". TheHill.
  16. "Washburne Resigning From OPIC After Restructuring of Agency". Bloomberg. February 10, 2019.
  17. "Ray Washburne steps down as US development finance head". Financial Times.
  18. Ferran, Lee (August 28, 2019). "Trump's secretive intelligence advisory board takes shape with security pros and GOP donors". ABC News. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  19. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Personnel to Key Administration Posts". The White House. May 20, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
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