Presidents and their Advisers: George H. W. Bush and John Sununu
John Sununu was the Governor of New Hampshire when Vice-President George H. W. Bush sought the Republican Party nomination for President in 1988 and was in need of a crucial victory in the New Hampshire Primary that year. When Bush won the nomination and later the Presidency, he selected Sununu as his Chief of Staff. Dubbed "Bush's Bad Cop", the President would later have to fire Sununu, but maintained a relationship as Bush ran for re-election in 1992.
John Henry Sununu was born in Havana, Cuba, where his father worked as international film distributor. His father came to the United States from a Greek Orthodox community in Jerusalem and his father was born in Boston. He obtained a bachelor of science degree in 1961, a master of science degree in 1963, and a Ph.D. in 1966 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all in mechanical engineering. From 1968 until 1973, he was Associate Dean of the College of Engineering at Tufts University and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975 and was elected as New Hampshire's 75th Governor on January 6, 1983, and served three consecutive terms. Sununu served as chairman of the Coalition of Northeastern Governors, the Republican Governors Association and, in 1987, the National Governors Association.
Sununu came to Bush's rescue in the 1988 fight for the GOP nomination after Bush faced a serious challenge from Kansas Senator Bob Dole. Sununu helped Bush with the important New Hampshire primary and was an important advisor in the 1988 election.
But as Chief of Staff for the 41st President, Sununu was involved in a number of gaffes and controversies. He recommended the appointment of Justice David Souter to the US Supreme Court, responding to pressure from New Hampshire senator Warren Rudman. Sununu later expressed disappointment about Souter's liberal positions on the Court. Sununu was also reported to be the person who advised Bush to abandon his "read my lips, no new taxes" pledge.
He was accused of taking personal trips, for skiing and other purposes, and classified them as official, for purposes such as conservation or promoting the Thousand Points of Light. One Washington Post article claimed that Sununu used government jets to take "him to fat-cat Republican fund-raisers, ski lodges, golf resorts and even his dentist in Boston." The report claimed that Sununu paid the government $892 for more than $615,000 worth of military jet travel. Sununu said that his use of the jets was necessary because he had to be near a telephone at all times for reasons of national security. He made the situation worse when he traveled to a rare stamp auction at Christie's auction house in New York City from Washington in a government limousine. He then sent the car and driver back to Washington unoccupied while he returned on a corporate jet. Over forty newspapers ran editorials on Sununu, nearly all of them critical of his actions.
Sununu repaid over $47,000 to the government for the flights on the orders of White House counsel C. Boyden Gray. But the reimbursements were at commercial rates, which was only about one-tenth the cost of the actual flights.
Sununu was seen to be a drag on Bush's re-election chances, and on December 4, 1991, he resigned at the request of the president's son, future President George W. Bush. According to a New York Times report, the younger George Bush told Sununu that he no longer had any political support.
After leaving the White House, Sununu co-hosted CNN's nightly Crossfire from March 1992 until February 1998. Today he is President of JHS Associates, LTD, and chief partner in Trinity International Partners, a private financial firm. His son, John E. Sununu, is a U.S. Senator for New Hampshire.
John Henry Sununu was born in Havana, Cuba, where his father worked as international film distributor. His father came to the United States from a Greek Orthodox community in Jerusalem and his father was born in Boston. He obtained a bachelor of science degree in 1961, a master of science degree in 1963, and a Ph.D. in 1966 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all in mechanical engineering. From 1968 until 1973, he was Associate Dean of the College of Engineering at Tufts University and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975 and was elected as New Hampshire's 75th Governor on January 6, 1983, and served three consecutive terms. Sununu served as chairman of the Coalition of Northeastern Governors, the Republican Governors Association and, in 1987, the National Governors Association.
Sununu came to Bush's rescue in the 1988 fight for the GOP nomination after Bush faced a serious challenge from Kansas Senator Bob Dole. Sununu helped Bush with the important New Hampshire primary and was an important advisor in the 1988 election.
But as Chief of Staff for the 41st President, Sununu was involved in a number of gaffes and controversies. He recommended the appointment of Justice David Souter to the US Supreme Court, responding to pressure from New Hampshire senator Warren Rudman. Sununu later expressed disappointment about Souter's liberal positions on the Court. Sununu was also reported to be the person who advised Bush to abandon his "read my lips, no new taxes" pledge.
He was accused of taking personal trips, for skiing and other purposes, and classified them as official, for purposes such as conservation or promoting the Thousand Points of Light. One Washington Post article claimed that Sununu used government jets to take "him to fat-cat Republican fund-raisers, ski lodges, golf resorts and even his dentist in Boston." The report claimed that Sununu paid the government $892 for more than $615,000 worth of military jet travel. Sununu said that his use of the jets was necessary because he had to be near a telephone at all times for reasons of national security. He made the situation worse when he traveled to a rare stamp auction at Christie's auction house in New York City from Washington in a government limousine. He then sent the car and driver back to Washington unoccupied while he returned on a corporate jet. Over forty newspapers ran editorials on Sununu, nearly all of them critical of his actions.
Sununu repaid over $47,000 to the government for the flights on the orders of White House counsel C. Boyden Gray. But the reimbursements were at commercial rates, which was only about one-tenth the cost of the actual flights.
Sununu was seen to be a drag on Bush's re-election chances, and on December 4, 1991, he resigned at the request of the president's son, future President George W. Bush. According to a New York Times report, the younger George Bush told Sununu that he no longer had any political support.
After leaving the White House, Sununu co-hosted CNN's nightly Crossfire from March 1992 until February 1998. Today he is President of JHS Associates, LTD, and chief partner in Trinity International Partners, a private financial firm. His son, John E. Sununu, is a U.S. Senator for New Hampshire.