| Thomas D. Croci | |
| Office: | Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia |
| Term Start: | February 3, 2020 |
| Term End: | January 19, 2021 |
| President: | Donald Trump |
| Predecessor: | David Samuel Sedney |
| Successor: | Rebecca Zimmerman |
| State Senate1: | New York |
| District1: | 3rd |
| Term Start1: | January 1, 2015 |
| Term End1: | December 31, 2018 |
| Predecessor1: | Lee Zeldin |
| Successor1: | Monica Martinez |
| Office2: | Town supervisor of Islip, New York |
| Term Start2: | January 1, 2012 |
| Term End2: | December 31, 2014 |
| Predecessor2: | Phil Nolan |
| Successor2: | Angie Carpenter |
| Birth Name: | Thomas Dominick Croci[1] [2] |
| Birth Date: | 21 May 1972 |
| Birth Place: | Bohemia, New York |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Sayville, New York |
| Website: | Official Site |
| Alma Mater: | James Madison University (BS) New York Law School (JD) |
Thomas D. Croci is an American politician and naval officer from the state of New York. A Republican, Croci represented the 3rd District of the New York State Senate from 2015 through 2018.[3] He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia in the Trump administration, from February 3, 2020 to January 19, 2021.[4]
He was elected to his first political office, town supervisor for the Town of Islip, in 2011.[3] Croci was first elected to the State Senate in 2014.[5]
Croci graduated from Connetquot High School and received a bachelor's degree from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science.[6]
He graduated from New York Law School in 1997 and then joined the U.S. Navy, where he went to Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida.[7] He spent eight years on active duty and attained the rank of commander in 2013.[7] He served in Afghanistan and was on the staff of the Homeland Security Council under President George W. Bush and also served on the Barack Obama presidential transition team.[7] Croci thereafter returned to active duty as an intelligence officer in Afghanistan, sixteen months into his first term as town supervisor for Islip, New York; he returned to Islip in 2014.[7]
Croci was formerly an aide to Republican state Senator Lee Zeldin.[6] Croci was elected to New York State Senate for the 3rd district in November 2014, and was elected to a second term.[6] Croci abruptly left the state Senate to rejoin the U.S. Navy in May 2018 without resigning his seat. According to Newsday, Croci's absence threw "a monkey wrench into the day-to-day operations of the State Senate" by depriving Senate Republicans of a governing majority.[8] Croci did not seek re-election in November 2018.[6] [9]
Croci resides in Sayville, New York.[6]
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