Fil-Am named Trump assistant

A Filipino-American and a veteran top aide to United States House Speaker Paul Ryan has been tapped as President Donald Trump’s point person for legislative affairs in the US House of Representatives.

Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Speaker Joyce Yamat Meyer, 46, has just been appointed as Deputy Assistant to the President and House Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs.

Meyer was born in Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania to Masantol, Pampanga native Michael and Evelyn Yamat.

She attended the all-girls Divine Savior Holy Angels High School in Milwaukee and later took up political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

She is married to a consultant at the Pentagon.

Speaker Ryan considers Meyer as “more than a close confidant, more than a friend, she is family.”

He said he and Meyer once worked as Senate staffers together and that when he was elected, she was among his first hires.

“And she’s been with me every day of the 18 years since,” said Ryan in a statement. “Through every up and down, Joyce has brought remarkable perspective, insisted on thoughtful planning, and always made sure the people of her native Southern Wisconsin are at the center of everything we do.”

He said he will forever be in awe of Meyer’s “devotion, her energetic spirit, and her extraordinary understanding of the House.”

“Above all, I — and so many of my colleagues who share my admiration for Joyce — will be thankful for her friendship,” added Ryan. “She is the best of what we all aspire to be in public service. And while this loss is personal for me, I’m so happy for the country’s gain.”