Claude Alexander Allen Jr. (born October 11, 1960) is an American attorney who was appointed to be Assistant to the President of the United States for Domestic Policy by George W.

He began his legal career in 1990 as a clerk for a federal judge, then was an associate with Baker Botts from 1991 to 1995 and the office of the Attorney General of Virginia from 1995 to 1998.

On March 10, 2006, news broke that Allen had been repeatedly stealing from retail stores Target and Hecht's by engaging in return fraud.

Claude attended Jesse O. Sanderson High School in Raleigh, North Carolina from 1975 to 1978 where he participated in student government and ran track.

[citation needed] Allen has a twin brother named Floyd,[5][6] who played football and was inducted into the Sanderson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.

[8] Allen grew up in a Democratic household, but he took a job after college as press secretary for Bill Cobey, a Republican Congressional candidate in North Carolina.

[citation needed] In 2004, Allen was nominated by President George W. Bush to become a federal judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

His nomination was opposed by numerous educational, religious, and racial groups, including People for the American Way, the NAACP, and the National Organization for Women.

Journalist Doug Ireland wrote that when serving as Health and Human Services Commissioner in Virginia, Allen opposed certain legislation because it included taxpayer funding for abortions.

[17] He was not formally charged until March after a review of security video and credit card activity showed similar behavior dating back to 2005.

"[25] President George W. Bush said on March 11, 2006, "If the allegations are true, Claude Allen did not tell my Chief of Staff and legal counsel the truth, and that's deeply disappointing.

The piece suggested that Allen, along with other prominent black Republicans, "stake out ultra-right-wing positions to prove their bona fides to their white superiors.

[31] His son Claude Allen III pleaded guilty to murder on September 3, 2014, but was declared not legally responsible and was committed to a psychiatric institution.