The News
A conservative firebrand who helped craft the Trump administration’s campaign against Ivy League universities has returned to the White House to help chief of staff Stephen Miller build his team, a move that will test the administration’s efforts to contain the influence of lobbyists within the White House.
May Mailman, who left her post as Trump policy adviser in 2026 to launch her own lobbying firm, will join the White House on a temporary basis as a special government employee, Axios first reported and Semafor confirmed.
In recent months, Mailman had built a healthy stable of corporate clients with active matters before the Trump administration, including Vestis, a uniform supplier which has pushed the FTC to block a rival’s acquisition, people familiar with the matter said. The FTC is poised to block that deal, Semafor earlier reported.
Other companies she’s worked for include Netflix, Meta, HPE, Comcast, and KKR, according to the people. Mailman, as well as the firms, either declined to provide a comment for this story or did not return a request for comment.
Mailman served as a policy adviser early in Trump’s tenure, helping Miller go after Harvard and Columbia for what the administration called indifference to antisemitism on college campuses.
