Shawn Steel

Steel's wife is Congresswoman Michelle Park Steel, who has represented California's 48th congressional district since 2021. Prior to entering Congress, she served as an elected member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors from 2015 to 2021. She was first elected in 2006 as a member of the California Board of Equalization, serving there from 2007 to 2015. They have two children, Cheyenne Park Steel Klotz and Siobhan Cheong Steel.

In June 2020, Steel was linked by the Wall Street Journal to an effort by Chinese nationalists to influence the Trump administration. In May 2017, Steel held a gathering of GOP leaders to discuss campaign strategies and other issues. The meeting reportedly included Chinese nationals working closely with China's national-security apparatus, and Chinese military representatives. After the news was reported, the Republican National Committee said it had instructed Mr. Steel to break ties with the people identified in the reports. Upon review, the Republican National Committee indicated that all activities were legally compliant with campaign-finance laws. In the article, Mr. Steel stated that it would be “false, defamatory, and offensive” to say he aided any Chinese efforts. In fact, Mr. Steel, a Republican national committeeman from California, found the article to be fictitious and false based on his anti-communism advocacy. In several published articles, Mr. Steel criticized and confronted the Chinese Communist Party for human rights violations such as organ harvesting, ethnic minority oppression, and torture. He even went on to criticize how the Chinese Communist Party handled the coronavirus, pointing out that "China's ruthless Communist government quashes all dissenting opinions..."

As the California Republican Party Chairman, Steel was the co-founder of the successful recall of Governor Gray Davis in 2003. Gov. Davis was recalled via a Recall Petition in which Steel was the first signatory of over 1,000,000 signatures.

Steel was criticized by senior California Republican leaders as well as national leaders. Corporate raider Gerry Parsky, and President George W. Bush's unofficial representative in California questioned the strategy of recalling Gray Davis. Some party leaders objected to Steel's efforts to unseat Davis, fearing it was too risky. Steel at the CRP convention in February 2003 convinced an overwhelming majority to endorse the Recall, thus turning the tide for the recall campaign.

Steel teaches Ethics and Jurisprudence at Cleveland University-Kansas City in Los Angeles. He also is a regular lecturer at Palmer College of Chiropractic in San Jose and Southern California University of Health Services in Whittier. He was appointed by Republican Governor Pete Wilson to the California State Acupuncture Board. He was appointed in 1993 and served until 2000. Steel was elected by his peers as Chairman of the Acupuncture Board for two one-year terms.

Shawn Steel (born c. 1946) is an American politician serving as the Republican National Committee Member from California since 2008. He was voted by his colleagues to the executive committee of the Republican National Committee in 2018. Steel served as Sergeant at Arms at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio in 2016. In 2012, he served as Deputy Permanent Co-chairmen of the convention. He was elected as Chairman of the California Republican Party from 2001 to 2003. He is the husband of Congresswoman Michelle Park Steel, who has represented California's 48th congressional district since 2021.