| George Prescott Bush | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 24, 1976 Texas |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 2007-present |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | United States Navy Reserve |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan |
George Prescott Gallo Bush (born April 24, 1976 in Texas)[1] is an attorney, U.S. Navy Reserve officer and real estate developer, who is the eldest of three children of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and his wife Columba. He is the nephew of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush, and the grandson of the 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush.
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Bush's mother, Columba Garnica Gallo, is a naturalized citizen of the U.S. originally from Mexico.[2] Bush attended Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami and was a classmate to popular musical artist Enrique Iglesias. Bush earned an undergraduate degree from Rice University in 1998 and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 2003.
Like his grandfather and uncle (both at Yale), Bush was a freshman walk-on to the baseball team at Rice University, but abandoned the game by his sophomore year.[3] Bush played quarterback for the Jones College intramural football team.
He was featured in People Magazine's top 100 Bachelors in 2000.[4]
At the age of 12, Bush spoke before the 1988 Republican National Convention, which nominated his grandfather. He campaigned for his uncle, George W. Bush, during the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns. In his speeches he stated support for his uncle's position in favor of comprehensive immigration reform.
He has been outspoken on certain issues. In August 2004, during a trip to Mexico sponsored by the group Republicans Abroad, he called Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez a dictator[5] and criticized the U.S. Border Patrol's use of guns which fire plastic pellets packed with chili powder. Bush was quoted as telling Mexican media, "If there has been American approval for this policy, that is reprehensible. It's kind of barbarous." He attributed the gun usage to "some local INS guy who's trying to be tough, act macho", although it is an agency policy.[4] When asked in 2003 about whether he planned to run for office himself, Bush replied that his grandmother, Barbara Bush, had advised that anyone thinking about entering politics should distinguish himself in some other field first: "Make a name for yourself, have a family, marry someone great, have some kids, buy a house, pay taxes, and do the things everyone also does instead of just running out and saying, 'Hey, I'm the nephew of or the son of or the grandson of...'."[6] Speaking specifically of his father's White House ambitions, he cites "Bush fatigue" as a discouraging factor.[7]
Bush criticized Florida Governor Charlie Crist for accepting money from the stimulus package, calling for a return to fiscal conservatism.[8] In January 2010, he endorsed Marco Rubio, Crist's opponent for the United States Senate.[9]
Bush is currently a partner with Pennybacker Capital, LLC, a real estate investment company in Austin, Texas. The company was originally named N3 Capital and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.[10] Before entering the real estate investment business, he practiced corporate and securities law in Dallas with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP. In 2005, Bush was selected as one of Texas Monthly's "Rising Stars" for his work with Akin Gump.
Bush is also a co-founder and on the board of directors of Hispanic Republicans of Texas, a political action committee whose goal is to elect Republican political candidates of Hispanic heritage to office in Texas.[11][12]
Bush received his undergraduate degree from Rice University and obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law in 2003. After law school, he clerked for U.S District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, Sidney A. Fitzwater.[13]
On March 21, 2007 the United States Navy Reserve announced the selection of Bush for training as an intelligence officer. Once commissioned as an Ensign for eight years of reserve service, he was expected to attend direct commission officer training, and then undergo a year of intelligence training, initially assigned to duty near his home.[14][15]
Bush told The Politico that attending the October 2006 launch of the aircraft carrier named for his grandfather—the USS George H.W. Bush -- inspired him to join the service. He also called the death of Pat Tillman, the NFL player and Army Ranger who was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan in 2004, "a wake-up call." When asked to comment, Bush's senior assistant, Kyle Hoskinson, said "The Pat Tillman case is one of the saddest in U.S. Army history."[14]
In October 2009, news blogs reported that the U.S. Navy had recently told Bush that he is likely to be soon deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan.[16][17] He would go on to serve a tour of duty in the War in Afghanistan and returned to the United States in 2011.[18] Bush was deployed under the United States Special Operations Command.[19]
Bush married a law school classmate, Amanda "Mandi" Williams, on August 7, 2004 in Kennebunkport, Maine.[20][21] Williams is a media law attorney at the Jackson Walker LLP in Fort Worth, Texas.[22][23] They currently live in Austin, Texas.
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