President Trump’s former Deputy Assistant and Senior Policy Strategist returns to lead Independent Women’s Law Center, where she will drive game-changing policies, advance unique legal perspectives around key issues, and support wronged individuals to bring justice.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After shaping some of the boldest, most consequential policies of the early Trump administration—defining “woman,” keeping men out of women’s sports, putting a stop to the medical abuse and mutilation of minors, expanding energy production, returning wasteful government spending to taxpayers, and deregulating the productive American economy—May Mailman is returning to Independent Women to serve as director of Independent Women’s Law Center, ready to continue her fight for justice and game-changing policy reform. 

Taking a leave of absence from Independent Women for the historic 47th Presidential Transition and first seven months of President Donald J. Trump’s second term, Mailman served as deputy assistant to the president and senior policy strategist, working as Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s right-hand. A fearless operator known for her brilliance, grit, and biting wit, Mailman was the strategic mastermind behind some of the most headline-grabbing executive orders and initiatives of the new administration: sex definition executive order, ban on chemical and surgical mutilation executive order, women’s sports executive order, investigations into Title IX offenses on college campuses, investigations into single-sex sorority violations, dedication to ensuring states abide by Title IX’s original intent, and promise to hold universities accountable, among many others.

“She is a visionary strategist and fearless advocate who delivers results,” said Heather R. Higgins, Independent Women CEO. “May’s strategic mind, legal precision, and clarity of purpose are unmatched. She has a rare ability to speak the truth, even when it is unpopular—and refreshingly funny and unfiltered. We are thrilled to have her unmatched strategic and policy acumen back at Independent Women.”

Mailman first joined Independent Women in 2021 as a senior fellow before serving as director of the Law Center. Her return underscores her continued commitment to advancing policy solutions, building movements, shaping public opinion, and driving positive change. 

Mailman, heralded at Independent Women as a visionary with a fierce will to win, is the architect behind the organization’s new tagline—“Tell Her Story, Change The World.” It is the sharing of personal, impactful stories and policy solutions—in court, in the media, and before Congress—that is the catalyst for Independent Women’s reputable cultural and legislative influence.

About her return, May Mailman said: “Independent Women is the irreplaceable group sharing the real stories, experiences, and policy preferences of women who want a brighter future than what liberalism and modern feminism promise. I’m grateful to be back with Independent Women to seek life-changing policies for women, our children, and our communities.”

Actions to hold states and schools’ feet to the fire, investigations, executive orders, and other measures taken by the Trump administration are, in large part, prompted by everyday American stories. In this, President Trump is fulfilling his promise in fighting for the “forgotten man and woman” who will be “forgotten no longer.” Independent Women is known for its work identifying real people, telling their stories, and giving a platform to voices from around the country who are champions for policies that will change the world for good. And therein is the foundation for what Independent Women is and what Mailman so eloquently captured in Independent Women’s “Tell Her Story, Change The World” tagline.

[Left] May Mailman with President Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office
[Center] May Mailman featured as a “Champion Woman” for Independent Women
[Right] May Mailman at the White House with Payton McNabb and Linnea Salz, both Independent Women sports ambassadors

During her previous tenure leading Independent Women’s Law Center, Mailman championed the preservation of women’s sports and intimate spaces and fought to enshrine sex-based definitions for “woman” and “man” in state and federal law—work that inspired President Trump’s Day One executive order: Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.

In the landmark lawsuit that made national headlines and sought to preserve female-only sororities—Westenbroek v. Kappa Kappa Gamma—Mailman served as lead counsel. In a case that truly exposed who knows what a woman is, Mailman argued before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in May 2024 that by refusing to abide by the “woman” only membership in its own bylaws, Kappa Kappa Gamma had denied women the single-sex sisterhood they were once promised.

Though the court sidestepped the case, Mailman did not stop fighting and would continue to expose the realities of what was happening to single-sex spaces—from prisons to rape crisis centers to domestic violence shelters. 

“If ‘woman’ has no meaning,” she warned in a Fox News oped, “then other legal protections for women could be jeopardized.”

[Left] May Mailman at a press conference outside of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals after Westenbroek v. Kappa Kappa Gamma oral arguments
[Right] May Mailman pictured with Westenbroek v. Kappa Kappa Gamma plaintiffs

Mailman’s counsel and leadership at Independent Women, both behind the scenes and publicly, led directly to: the Kansas state legislature overriding Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of Independent Women’s Stand With Women legislative options, an early, critical legislative win that had a domino effect nationwide, with now eighteen states that Stand With Women; the LPGA and the USGA changing their transgender participation policies ahead of any presidential executive order; Meta moving to protect free speech and biological truth on its platforms; the court deciding to strike down gender ideology in victory for female college student Payton McNabb in campus civil rights case involving trans-identifying man; and the court upholding Sweet Briar College’s all-women admissions policy; and more, to name just some of her accomplishments.

Carrie Lukas, Independent Women president, said: “May Mailman is a brilliant legal mind and strategist. We are thrilled to have her serve as Independent Women’s Law Center Director. Under her leadership and the hard work of our entire team, I know the Law Center will continue to have an outsized impact in supporting constitutional government, justice and the rule of law.” 

“I am thrilled to welcome May back to Independent Women,” said Beth Parlato, senior legal advisor for Independent Women. “Her brilliance and dedication were on full display during her service in the White House, and I’m looking forward to having her talents and leadership back on our team.”

Now, back at the helm of Independent Women’s Law Center, Mailman—through litigation, testimonies, and media appearances—will drive game-changing policies, advance legal perspectives around key issues, and support wronged individuals to bring justice. Mailman will work with those everyday Americans who are making their voices heard through IW Features, and she will play a key role in bolstering their arguments, building a movement of support, and bringing their issues to life through legal advocacy and action.

Read more about Mailman’s work at Independent Women and the White House in her “Champion Women” profile, “From the Courtroom to the White House: May Mailman’s Journey to ‘the Center of the Universe’.”

Upon setting out for the next chapter of her journey, several feature stories were published about Mailman, her work at the White House, her persuasive tactics to win over her own alma mater, Harvard, the personal sacrifices she made each week traveling away from her family in Texas to the White House to serve under President Trump, and her commitment to restoring objective truth and biological reality in this country:

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