George P. Bush

George Prescott Bush was born on April 24, 1976, in Houston, Texas. He is an American politician and attorney affiliated with the Republican Party. Bush served as the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 2015 to 2023 and was a candidate in the 2022 Texas Attorney General election.

Family and Early Life:

George Prescott Bush is a member of the Bush family, which has held multiple prominent political positions in the United States. He is the eldest child of Jeb Bush, a former governor of Florida. He is the nephew of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States; grandson of George H. W. Bush, the 41st president; and great-grandson of Prescott Bush, a former U.S. senator from Connecticut.

Bush was born in Houston, Texas, to Jeb Bush and Columba Garnica Gallo. He has two younger siblings: Noelle Lucila Bush and John Ellis Bush Jr. Bush attended Gulliver Preparatory School in the Miami area.

Legal and Educational Background:

In December 1994, Bush was involved in an incident where he attempted to break into his former girlfriend's home and later drove his car through her front yard; the girlfriend's father chose not to press charges. Bush graduated from Rice University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. He then attended the University of Texas School of Law from 2000 to 2003, earning a Juris Doctor degree.

Career:

Between August 1998 and June 1999, Bush taught social studies at a public high school in Homestead, Florida. In 2011, he accepted an advisory board chair position at Uplift Education, a charter school organization planning to expand into Texas; he had left the board by 2014.

Bush clerked for Sidney A. Fitzwater, a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, from September 2003 to 2004. He practiced corporate and securities law with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in Dallas from 2004 to 2007, and was recognized as one of Texas Monthly's "Rising Stars" in 2005. From 2007 to 2012, Bush was a partner at Pennybacker Capital, LLC, a real estate private equity firm in Austin. In 2012, he founded St. Augustine Partners, an investment firm focused on energy and technology.

Military Service:

Bush joined the United States Navy Reserve after being inspired by the launch of the USS George H.W. Bush in October 2006 and motivated by the death of Pat Tillman. He completed training as an intelligence officer through the direct commission officer program in March 2007 and was commissioned as a Navy Reserve Officer in May 2007. Bush served in Afghanistan for approximately eight months from June 2010 to February 2011. During his deployment, he used a different name for security reasons. Bush was discharged in May 2017 with the rank of lieutenant.

Texas Land Commissioner:

In September 2012, Bush announced his intention to run for Texas Land Commissioner, a role responsible for managing state lands, including negotiating leases for mineral rights. He formally filed to run in March 2013 and secured the Republican nomination in June 2014, winning the election in November with 61% of the vote. Bush was reelected in 2018, securing approximately 54% of the vote.

During his tenure, Bush oversaw the Texas General Land Office (GLO), managing about 13 million acres of state land. In 2015, the GLO assumed control of the Alamo, and various development projects and renovations ensued. His administration included a legal dispute with the Daughters of the Republic of Texas over management of the Alamo, ultimately settled in 2016. Bush's office also initiated a study on flooding effects in Houston and Texas coast areas.

Political Activities:

In 2020 and 2021, Bush publicly expressed support for then-President Donald Trump and endorsed his re-election. He also supported the removal of Liz Cheney as House Republican Conference chair in 2021.

2022 Texas Attorney General Election:

Bush announced his candidacy for Texas Attorney General in June 2021, running against incumbent Ken Paxton. His campaign emphasized topics such as election integrity, critical race theory, border security, human trafficking, and drug enforcement. The campaign featured praise for Donald Trump but did not explicitly mention Bush’s family history. Bush was defeated by Paxton in the Republican primary runoff, receiving approximately 32% of the vote.

Post-Political Career:

Following his 2022 electoral loss, Bush joined the law firm Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, based in Wisconsin, working in Austin. In 2024, he was appointed as the Managing Partner of the firm's Austin office.