Blumhouse PR chief Josh Raffel has joined the White House Office of American Innovation and will work for Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, an individual with knowledge of the move told TheWrap.
Raffel has been with Blumhouse Productions, the producer of horror hits like “The Purge” and “Insidious,” since 2015. He will be replaced by Teri Everett, former executive vice president of global communications for Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, who left in February and was replaced by Cindy Gardner.
According to the Washington Post, last month, President Trump unveiled a new White House office to fulfill key campaign promises. Internally, it is viewed as a “SWAT team of strategic consultants” and is staffed by former business executives and “designed to infuse fresh thinking into Washington.” Kushner himself positioned the new office as an “offensive team.”
“All Americans, regardless of their political views, can recognize that government stagnation has hindered our ability to properly function, often creating widespread congestion and leading to cost overruns and delays,” Trump said in a statement to The Washington Post. “I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my ‘ahead of schedule, under budget’ mentality to the government.”
“We should have excellence in government,” Kushner added. “The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens.”
Raffel previously worked for New York-based PR firm Hiltzik Strategies where he represented Kushner’s family business. His other clients included Glenn Beck, Jeff Robinov’s Studio 8 and Sony Pictures.
Raffel will relocate to Washington D.C. and is expected to begin his new position at the White House in the coming weeks.