A suburban Utah mayor whom Donald Trump called “100% MAGA” announced Wednesday that he will join the president’s administration.
Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs will become a regional advocate within the U.S. Small Business Administration, he said in a social media post to X. He will work with small businesses to identify “red tape and regulation we can cut,” Staggs said in the post.
Staggs has served Riverton and its 45,000 residents for 12 years — including four on the City Council and nearly eight as mayor — while also balancing a career in business consulting.
Staggs announced in March that he would not be running for reelection as Riverton mayor. His term will end in January 2026, and Staggs told The Tribune he plans to serve out out the remainder of his term and balance the two roles.
Staggs garnered an endorsement from Trump during his run for U.S. Senate in 2024. Staggs lost the race to former Rep. John Curtis in a four-way primary.
“A Highly Successful Entrepreneur, who has served brilliantly as Mayor of Riverton for the past six years, Trent knows how to Create Jobs, Stop Inflation, Grow the Economy, and Secure the Border,” Trump wrote in a post to his Truth Social platform on April 27, 2024. “...Trent Staggs has my Complete and Total Endorsement — He will be a GREAT Senator, and never let you down!”
In his new position, Staggs said he will represent small businesses in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and both North and South Dakota.
“Just as I’ve done as a mayor, I will continue to champion limited government, fiscal responsibility, and local control. These are the principles that allow small businesses to thrive rather than merely survive,” Staggs said. “Together, we can restore accountability and opportunity for Main Street instead of Wall Street.”
The Trump transition team reached out to Staggs in December — a month before the mayor attended the president’s January inauguration — to ask how he might like to serve the new administration, Staggs told The Tribune in March. At the time, Staggs said that he could be tapped if a position became available in the administration that fit with his family’s needs.
“That’s one thing you learn, too, in politics: Never say never,” Staggs said in March. “… An opportunity presents itself in the future, depending on what that is, I could entertain it.”
