© 2018 American University Model United Nations Conference All rights reserved. No part of this background guide may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission from the American University Model United Nations Conference Secretariat. Please direct all questions to [email protected] of of of of of of of of of of UNITED STATES | POSITION 001 Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce Date of Birth: 11/28/1937 Home Country: United States Biography Secretary Wilbur Ross heads the Department of Commerce and therefore functions as the spokesman of business and trade within the Trump Administration. He is the voice of US businesses within the Cabinet and directly interacts with communities, businesses, and workers in order to promote their interests. The Department’s main goal is promoting economic growth, which is supported by five strategic goals: acceleration of American leadership, job creation, the strengthening of economic and national security, fulfillment of constitutional requirements, and the delivery of customer-centric service. Domestically, the Department of Commerce is responsible for supporting American businesses, circulating economic studies, gathering demographic and economic date, issuing trademarks and patents, and supporting technological development related to business development. The department also plays a significant role in the international sphere, as it is responsible for promoting US foreign trade, regulating exports, and implementing international trade agreements. Secretary Ross’ tenure as Secretary of Commerce is not without scandal. In November 2017, documents known as the Paradise Papers were leaked to the public. These showed that Ross had failed to clearly disclose financial ties to Russian interests in his confirmation hearings. It was shown that he owned shares of both a Russian shipping firm and a Cypriot bank linked to the investigation by Robert Mueller. Secretary Ross was also shown to own stakes in several companies co-owned by the Chinese government, calling into question his ability to advise on policy with such a major trade partner. Prior to his appointment to his current position, Secretary Ross worked the investment banking and private equity sectors. He began his work at N M Rothschild & Sons, later named Rothschild Inc., where, during the 1980s, he worked on a deal between Donald Trump and his bondholders that allowed Trump to keep control of his three Atlantic City based casinos. After the US housing bubble burst in the early 2000s, Secretary Ross moved from advising positions to investment. Consequently, Secretary Ross has served as the chairman or lead director of more than 100 companies. He has been dubbed the “King of Bankruptcy” as he was known for buying and restructuring these failed companies, primarily in the steel and manufacturing industries, and later selling them for large profits. It was reported in November of 2017 that Secretary Ross had a net worth of $2.5 billion, although his official disclosure forms showed less than $700 million is assets and he is no longer on the Forbes billionaires list. Secretary Ross owns an art collection valued at $150 million with a wide variety of pieces from across the world. UNITED STATES | POSITION 001 Secretary Ross also has several international medals of honor, awarded by foreign leaders for his investment aid economic restoration. He holds a medal, awarded by President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea for his work during their financial crisis. In November of 2014, the Emperor of Japan awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star. Politically, Secretary Ross describes himself as “pro-sensible trade” and believes the trade should be fair and allow for free competition. He does not support the Trans-Pacific Partnership and has been described by others as protectionist. Secretary Ross has two children, Jessica and Amanda, from a previous marriage, ended in 1995. He is now married to Hilary Geary Ross, a writer for Quest Magazine, with whom he has two sons, Ted and Jack. Overt Powers: Ross is responsible for working with international organizations relating to trade and international economics Ross’ Department collects significant data in term of employment, income levels, and other economic information within the United States. He therefore has access to this information, as well as how and when it is released to the public. This is useful in affecting public perception of the economy. Ross is responsible for being business men's connection to the US government and therefore is able to contact America's top CEOs in the business sphere in order to gauge opinions or gather information. UNITED STATES | POSITION 002 Alexander Acosta Secretary of Labor Date of Birth: 1/16/1969 Home Country: United States Biography Son of Cuban Immigrants. Born and raised in Miami, Florida where he attended the Gulliver Schools. Graduated from Harvard in 1990 with an A.B. degree in Economics and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1994. Acosta served as a law clerk to Samuel Alito from 1994-1995, when Alito was a judge on the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. After, Acosta worked at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis in the Washington D.C. office where he worked on employment and labor issues. While working at the law firm, he also taught classes on employment law, disability-based discrimination law, and civil rights law at the George Mason University School of Law. From 2001-2002 during the Bush Administration, he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division. From 2002-2003 Acosta was a member of the National Labor Relations Board. he became Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division in 2003. In 2005, He was appointed United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, where he prosecuted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the terrorism suspect José Padilla, the founders of the Cali Cartel. In 2009, Acosta became the second dean of Florida International University College of Law. In 2013, Acosta became chairman of U.S. Century Bank, one of the largest Hispanic community banks in the US. In 2017, Acosta was confirmed to become U.S. Secretary of Labor. In 2018, as Secretary of Labor, Acosta announced a program to help employees and employers resolve wage disputes. Acosta is a member of the Republican Party. Acosta has twice been named one of the nation's 50 most influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine. He has many connections throughout the world including: being a member of the Board of Trustees of Gulliver Schools, where he served a past term as board chairman, serving on the Florida Innocence Commission, on the Florida Supreme Court's Commission on Professionalism, and on the Commission for Hispanic Rights and Responsibilities, formerly involved with the Ethics and Public Policy Center where he was the director of the effort to lobby against judicial nominees during the Clinton Administration, being a member of the Federalist Society, being a former member of the “distinguished awards committee” for the Family Research Council, being involved with Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, was involved with the Council for National Policy, a politically conservative organization, and he worked on George W. Bush 2000 presidential campaign and presidential transition team. UNITED STATES | POSITION 002 Overt Powers: As Secretary, can intervene and be involved in any labor disputes in the United States. As Secretary, has the authority to order inspections, audits and administer fines to businesses that do not comply with federal workplace safety laws. As Secretary, has the power to manage and determine how to disburse unemployment benefits to workers. UNITED STATES | POSITION 003 Jeff Sessions Attorney General Date of Birth: 12/24/1946 Home Country: United States Biography 71-year-old Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III is the current Attorney General of the United States--as of now entering his third year in this position in the Trump cabinet. A Republican Senator from 1997 until his 2017 resignation in order to serve in this position, Sessions has a wealth of experience with American politics, but he is far from inexperienced with the law. He entered into private practice shortly after graduating with a law degree from University of Alabama Law School. And while he never served in a judiciary position--his nomination for a position in the district court being rejected in the midst of politicians objecting that he had less-than-progressive views on racial equality--he served as the attorney general of Alabama for two years before his successful run for the U.S. Senate. A family man, Sessions has been happily married to his wife Mary for nearly fifty years, and together they have had three grown children: Mary, Abigail, and Sam. Born and raised in the heart of the Bible Belt, Sessions is a staunch conservative as well as a devout Methodist. Staying true to his faith, he continues to teach Sunday school at church in his home state, all while still maintaining his numerous responsibilities he has had over the years as a member of the Senate and as attorney general. As of February 2017, Jeff Sessions has been the head of the United States Department of Justice, following in the footsteps of figures as beloved as Robert Kennedy and as infamous as John Mitchell. As the name suggests, the Department of Justice is in charge of the administration of justice in the United States. The FBI, ATF, Marshall Service, DEA, Federal Bureau of Prisons, National Institute of Corrections, and the Office of the Inspector General all fall under the administration of the Justice Department. The federal prison system is also run by this department. And as attorney general, it is the duty of Jeff Sessions to act as the nation’s lawyer in cases before the U.S.