In 2007 Lyons was admitted to the
State Bar of Texas and the Bars of
the District of Columbia and
Federal Circuit in 2010. He started his professional career as a law clerk to
Brett Kavanaugh, a former judge serving on the
United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and current
Associate Justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court and a former White House Staff Secretary. After his clerkship, he worked for
Representative Jeb Hensarling as a legislative assistant. He then moved to the private sector, working as a senior litigation assistant for the law firm
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. His practice was mainly related to federal regulatory policy. In May 2014, he went back to
Capitol Hill, becoming
General Counsel in the office of
Senator Rob Portman. In this role, he accompanied Senator Portman to meetings of the
Subcommittee on Investigations for the
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Lyons worked for the
Jeb Bush 2016 presidential campaign. In February 2016, he joined the law firm Boyden Gray & Associates. From January 2017 to February 2018, Lyons worked at the
White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary. After the sudden departure of
Rob Porter in February 2018, Lyons was promoted to acting White House Staff Secretary. In June he was formally appointed to the role on a permanent basis. Lyons oversaw, together with the
White House Chief of Staff, the flow of information to the President. In May 2020, Lyons was slated to serve as the Director of the
United States Domestic Policy Council, but Lyons' appointment was derailed after influential "
America First" conservatives voiced opposition due to his previous position with Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential bid and his consideration was withdrawn. Instead, he was promoted to the position of
Counselor to the President, alongside
Hope Hicks and
Kellyanne Conway. ==References==