Steven Cheung: Education, Career, and Political Ascent

Steven Cheung is an American political advisor who has garnered attention for his work in communications, particularly his association with Donald Trump. This article explores Cheung's background, education, and career trajectory, paying close attention to his role in the Trump administration and subsequent political endeavors.

Early Life and Education

Huyen "Steven" Cheung was born on June 23, 1982, in South Sacramento, California. He is the son of Chinese immigrants, his mother having been raised in Japan. Cheung graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 2000 and attended California State University, Sacramento, but did not earn a degree.

Early Career

Cheung began his career in politics with a communications and speechwriting internship for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He subsequently worked on several Republican campaigns, including John McCain's 2008 presidential bid, Steve Poizner's 2010 California gubernatorial campaign, Sharron Angle's 2010 United States Senate campaign in Nevada, and David Dewhurst's campaign for the 2012 United States Senate election in Texas.

Before joining the Trump campaign, Cheung served as a director of communications for public affairs at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in Las Vegas starting in 2013.

Role in the Trump Administration

2016 Presidential Campaign

In July 2016, Cheung was appointed as the director of rapid response for Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Following Trump's victory, he joined the presidential transition team, continuing to oversee rapid response efforts.

Read also: Steven M. Greer: A profile

White House Service

In January 2017, Cheung was appointed as the White House assistant communications director, one day prior to Trump's first inauguration. He later became the director of strategic response in September of the same year. His work involved ensuring Neil Gorsuch's Supreme Court nomination and the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Cheung's tenure in the White House ended in June 2018 when he was fired by Chief of Staff John F. Kelly as part of broader staff changes.

Post-White House and 2020 Campaign

After leaving the White House, Cheung worked as a consultant for various campaigns, including Trump's 2020 presidential campaign and Caitlyn Jenner's campaign in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election.

White House Communications Director

President-elect Donald Trump named Steven Cheung to be the White House communications director in his second term, elevating the longtime press aide after Cheung has reliably adopted the president-elect’s combative tone in public statements and denounced Trump’s political rivals. Trump announced Cheung’s appointment Friday, with the president-elect describing Cheung and fellow nominee Sergio Gor-tapped to lead the Presidential Personnel Office-in a statement as “trusted Advisors since my first Presidential Campaign in 2016” who “have continued to champion America First principles.”

Style and Reputation

Cheung is known for his combative and fiery rhetoric, often mirroring Trump's tone in public statements. He has been described as someone who will "do whatever Trump says." Despite his public persona, some reporters regard him as a "pretty nice guy" in private.

Read also: Rinella's Journey

Connections to UFC

Cheung's background with the UFC is part of a broader connection between Trump and the organization. UFC President Dana White is a longtime Trump ally, and podcaster Joe Rogan endorsed Trump after the president appeared on his podcast.

Research and Publications

Steven W. Cheung is also a physician who treats patients with conditions affecting the ears, balance, skull base and other parts of the head and neck. Cheung's current research focuses on how the brain learns and reorganizes in response to hearing loss and tinnitus. His goal is to develop innovative therapies for hearing restoration.

Cheung earned his medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Selected Publications

Cheung's research has resulted in numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals. These publications cover a wide range of topics related to hearing, balance, and neurological disorders. Here are a few examples:

Impact of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury on the Subjective Perception of Hearing and Balance: This study investigates the effects of mild traumatic brain injury on an individual's perception of hearing and balance.
Central auditory and tinnitus consequences of pediatric chronic otitis media with effusion: This research explores the link between chronic otitis media with effusion in children and subsequent auditory issues, including tinnitus.
Receptive-field nonlinearities in primary auditory cortex: a comparative perspective: This paper examines the nonlinearities in the receptive fields of the primary auditory cortex, offering a comparative analysis.
Impaired long-range excitatory time scale predicts abnormal neural oscillations and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease: This study explores how impaired long-range excitatory time scales can predict abnormal neural oscillations and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease.
Differences in Hearing, Balance, and Quality-of-Life Outcomes in Petroclival Versus Nonpetroclival Posterior Fossa Meningiomas: This research compares the outcomes of patients with petroclival and nonpetroclival posterior fossa meningiomas in terms of hearing, balance, and quality of life.
Multi-tasking deep network for tinnitus classification and severity prediction from multimodal structural MR images: This paper introduces a deep learning approach to classify tinnitus and predict its severity using multimodal structural MRI data.
Treated large posterior fossa vestibular schwannoma and meningioma: Hearing outcome and willingness-to-accept brain implant for unilateral deafness: This study examines the hearing outcomes in patients treated for large posterior fossa vestibular schwannoma and meningioma, as well as their willingness to accept brain implants for unilateral deafness.
Cancer survivors and neurotoxic chemotherapy: hearing loss and tinnitus: This research explores the connection between neurotoxic chemotherapy in cancer survivors and the development of hearing loss and tinnitus.
Temporal specificity of abnormal neural oscillations during phonatory events in laryngeal dystonia: This study examines the temporal specificity of abnormal neural oscillations during phonatory events in laryngeal dystonia.
Interhemispheric Auditory Cortical Synchronization in Asymmetric Hearing Loss: This paper investigates interhemispheric auditory cortical synchronization in individuals with asymmetric hearing loss.
Posterior petrous face meningiomas presenting with Ménière's-like syndrome: a case series and review of the literature: This study presents a case series and review of the literature on posterior petrous face meningiomas that manifest with symptoms similar to Ménière's disease.
Corticostriatal functional connectivity of bothersome tinnitus in single-sided deafness: This research explores the corticostriatal functional connectivity in individuals with bothersome tinnitus and single-sided deafness.
Global resting-state functional connectivity of neural oscillations in tinnitus with and without hearing loss: This study investigates the global resting-state functional connectivity of neural oscillations in individuals with tinnitus, with and without hearing loss.
Residual Tumor Volume and Location Predict Progression After Primary Subtotal Resection of Sporadic Vestibular Schwannomas: A Retrospective Volumetric Study: This retrospective study examines how residual tumor volume and location predict progression after primary subtotal resection of sporadic vestibular schwannomas.
Cross-modal plasticity in adult single-sided deafness revealed by alpha band resting-state functional connectivity: This paper examines cross-modal plasticity in adult single-sided deafness through alpha band resting-state functional connectivity analysis.
Cortical-Basal Ganglia-Cerebellar Networks in Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis: A Pilot Study: This pilot study explores the cortical-basal ganglia-cerebellar networks in individuals with unilateral vocal fold paralysis.
Human caudate nucleus subdivisions in tinnitus modulation: This research investigates the role of human caudate nucleus subdivisions in the modulation of tinnitus.
Functional and Structural Brain Plasticity in Adult Onset Single-Sided Deafness: This study examines functional and structural brain plasticity in adults with single-sided deafness.
Associations Between Perceived Stress and Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy and Otoxicity in Adult Cancer Survivors: This research explores the relationship between perceived stress and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and ototoxicity in adult cancer survivors.
Hearing loss and tinnitus in survivors with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy: This research explores the connection between chemotherapy-induced neuropathy in cancer survivors and the development of hearing loss and tinnitus.
Anisomorphic cortical reorganization in asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss: This paper examines anisomorphic cortical reorganization in individuals with asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss.
Spatial plasticity of the auditory cortex in single-sided deafness: This study investigates the spatial plasticity of the auditory cortex in individuals with single-sided deafness.
Increased striatal functional connectivity with auditory cortex in tinnitus: This research explores the increased striatal functional connectivity with the auditory cortex in individuals with tinnitus.
Deep brain stimulation in area LC controllably triggers auditory phantom percepts: This study demonstrates that deep brain stimulation in area LC can controllably trigger auditory phantom percepts.
Realignment of interaural cortical maps in asymmetric hearing loss: This paper examines the realignment of interaural cortical maps in individuals with asymmetric hearing loss.
Encoding of temporal information by timing, rate, and place in cat auditory cortex: This research investigates how temporal information is encoded by timing, rate, and place in the cat auditory cortex.

These publications highlight Cheung's contributions to the fields of otolaryngology, neurology, and neuroscience.

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