Jesse Panuccio

Panuccio received a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University,[7][8] and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School magna cum laude in 2006.[5][9] As a student, Panuccio wrote multiple articles for the Duke Chronicle. He repeatedly criticized Duke's response to the September 11 attacks, suggesting that Duke overemphasized "the potential backlash against the Arab and Muslim communities and the role that American foreign policy plays in inspiring fundamentalist insanity and hatred." [10][11] He also wrote about controversy surrounding his former fraternity for promoting a "Viva Mexico" party through several offensive stereotypes (like party invitations made to look like expired Green Cards). Panuccio wrote that he was ashamed of his former fraternity's actions, but most of his article was devoted to criticizing campus "identity groups" for using "fear and stigmatization" to demand special privileges on campus.[12]

Panuccio is a member of the Florida and District of Columbia bars.[13] Panuccio served as a law clerk to Judge Michael W. McConnell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.[13]

Panuccio then practiced law with the Washington D.C.-based law firm Cooper & Kirk PLLC.

Panuccio's Florida government headshot

Panuccio joined the administration of Governor Rick Scott as deputy general counsel in January 2011 after a law school friend working on Scott's campaign suggested that Panuccio should join Scott's transition team.[5] In 2012, Governor Scott appointed Panuccio general counsel to the governor.[5] In those roles, Panuccio represented the governor and the state in several significant legal challenges, including challenges to drug testing of state employees and welfare recipients[14][15][5] as well as a required state-worker pension contribution.[5] He also advised the governor on judicial appointments and served as chief ethics officer for the Executive Office of the Governor.[16]

In January 2013, Scott appointed Panuccio executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.[5][17] At the time, Panuccio was 32 years old[5] and was the youngest agency head in Florida government.[18] During his tenure, Panuccio wrote an op-ed in the Miami Herald about the departments efforts to combat fraud in the unemployment insurance program,[19] and an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal opposing the U.S. Department of Labor's proposed changes to its overtime rules.[20] In December 2015, Panuccio announced his resignation, effective January 8, 2016.[17] Panuccio's resignation came amid controversy regarding technical issues with Florida's CONNECT portal for paying unemployment benefits, with the Florida Senate recommending a confirmation vote that Panuccio was not expected to win.[21] That same CONNECT platform would later face significant criticism during the COVID-19 pandemic when it repeatedly crashed under the weight of increased applications.[22]

On January 25, 2016, Governor Scott appointed Panuccio to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.[23]

In January 2017, Panuccio was named acting Associate Attorney General of the United States.[2] Panuccio's former boss and mentor, Chuck Cooper of Cooper & Kirk, was advising Senator Jeff Sessions on staffing President-elect Donald Trump's transition team and recommended Panuccio for the position.[24] The Associate Attorney General is the third highest ranking official at the U.S. Department of Justice, and oversees virtually all non-criminal matters.[2] After newly-confirmed Attorney General William Barr took office, he resigned from office and was succeeded by former White House official Claire McCusker Murray.[25][3][26]

Panuccio is originally from New Jersey. He is half Jewish.[27]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jesse Panuccio.

• Office of the Associate Attorney General
• Appearances on C-SPAN