Matt Schlapp

Matthew Aaron Schlapp (born December 18, 1967) is an American political activist and lobbyist who is chairman of the American Conservative Union. He leads the lobbying firm Cove Strategies, which had strong ties to the Donald Trump administration. He is a former Fox News political contributor.

Schlapp was President George W. Bush's deputy assistant and political director during Bush's first term. He is married to Mercedes Schlapp, who was President Donald Trump's Director of Strategic Communications.

Early life and education Raised in Wichita, Kansas, Matt Schlapp is the son of Susan Schlapp, a former city councilwoman who, after eight years of service on the Wichita City Council (2003-2011), became the senior constituent liaison for the Kansas Department of Commerce under Governor Sam Brownback.

Schlapp's early schooling began at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Wichita, and in 1986, he graduated from Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School. He earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame, and went on to earn a Master's degree in public policy from Wichita State University.

During the George W. Bush administration, Schlapp served as political director, and advised Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, members of Bush's cabinet, and senior White House staff, and had extensive contact with members of Congress and federal agencies.

American Conservative Union and the 2020 election

On June 19, 2014, Schlapp was unanimously elected chairman of the American Conservative Union.

Abbott Labs came under criticism for using Cove Strategies and Schlapp as a lobbyist despite Abbott's professed commitment to social justice and consequently cut its ties with Schlapp. Comcast followed suit.

While ballots were being counted during the 2020 election, Schlapp made false claims of voter fraud. He claimed that 9,000 votes were improperly cast in Nevada; PolitiFact rated his claim with a "Pants On Fire" rating. Schlapp's lobbying firm Cove Strategies earned more than $2.3 million in 2020.

Schlapp signed the Madrid Charter, a document drafted by the conservative Spanish political party Vox that describes left-wing groups as enemies of Ibero-America involved in a "criminal project" that are "under the umbrella of the Cuban regime".

Matt Schlapp is the ninth chairman of the American Conservative Union. The alleged victim filed claims against Schlapp for battery and defamation. The plaintiff provided records of contemporary phone calls and texts regarding the claims. that Schlapp had attempted to settle the lawsuit against him for a six-figure sum. Earlier that month, two additional allegations of sexual assault by Schlapp against male staffers were reported by The Washington Post. That December, CPAC was accused in the lawsuit of covering up the additional allegations.

In March 2024, a Schlapp spokesman announced that the lawsuit had been dropped, quoting a statement from the plaintiff saying "The claims made in my lawsuits were the result of a complete misunderstanding, and I regret that the lawsuit caused pain to the Schlapp family" and "Neither the Schlapps nor the ACU paid me anything to dismiss my claims against them." The accuser had been paid a settlement of $480,000 by the ACU's insurance company and was thereby consequently restrained from commenting.

In February 2025, Schlapp was accused of sexually assaulting a man at a bar in Sperryville, Virginia. A sheriff's report indicated that an intoxicated Schlapp made multiple bar patrons uncomfortable before allegedly groping a man's genitals and being expelled from the bar. "Schlapp allegedly followed around and stood close to multiple groups of men in a Virginia bar, making them uncomfortable. After being confronted by some of those men, Schlapp failed to cease his assaultive behavior, and grazed his body against other men while walking past, according to the report."

Personal life Schlapp married Mercedes Schlapp, whom he met while they both worked at the White House, where she was the director of specialty media. They co-founded Cove Strategies, a communications and political consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia.

From September 2017 to July 2019, she served as Director of Strategic Communications in the Trump administration. Starting in July 2019, she worked on Trump's 2020 re-election campaign. The couple have five daughters.