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Denis McDonough

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Denis McDonough
11th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 9, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
DeputyCarolyn Clancy (acting)
Preceded byRobert Wilkie
26th White House Chief of Staff
In office
January 20, 2013 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJack Lew
Succeeded byReince Priebus
25th United States Deputy National Security Advisor
In office
October 20, 2010 – January 20, 2013
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byThomas E. Donilon
Succeeded byAntony Blinken
Personal details
Born
Denis Richard McDonough

(1969-12-02) December 2, 1969 (age 54)
Stillwater, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseKarin Hillstrom
Children3
EducationSt. John's University, Minnesota (BA)
Georgetown University (MS)

Denis Richard McDonough (born December 2, 1969) is an American government official serving as the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Joe Biden.[1]

From 2013 to 2017, McDonough served as White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama.[2] He previously served in the Obama Administration as Deputy National Security Advisor from 2010 to 2013 and as Chief of Staff at the National Security Council from 2009 to 2010.

Early life and education

McDonough was born on December 2, 1969, in Stillwater, Minnesota.[3] He was raised one of eleven children in a devout Irish Catholic family, his grandparents having immigrated from Connemara in the Gaeltacht.[4][5]

McDonough graduated from Stillwater Area High School in 1988,[6] then attended Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota[7] He played safety on the Johnnies football team for Hall of Fame coach John Gagliardi[8][9] and was a member of teams that won two conference titles in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.[8] McDonough graduated from Saint John's University with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in history and Spanish in 1992.[8] After graduation, McDonough traveled extensively throughout Latin America and taught high school in Belize.[8]

In 1996, he earned an MSFS degree at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.[8]

Career

From 1996 to 1999, McDonough worked as an aide for the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs,[10] where he focused on Latin America.[3] McDonough then served as a senior foreign policy advisor to Senator Tom Daschle.[8] After Daschle's re-election defeat in 2004, McDonough became legislative director for newly elected Senator Ken Salazar.[8] McDonough was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in 2004.[3]

In 2007, Senator Barack Obama's chief foreign policy advisor Mark Lippert, a Navy reservist, was called into active duty.[11] Lippert recruited McDonough to serve as his replacement during Lippert's deployment to Iraq.[8][12] McDonough continued to serve as a senior foreign policy advisor to Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.[3][13]

Obama Administration

McDonough, seated, third from right in blue shirt, in the Situation Room during the Bin Laden raid.
McDonough conferring with Obama about the Cairo Speech, with Ben Rhodes, on June 4, 2009.

After President Obama's election, he joined the administration as the National Security Council's head of strategic communication.[10] He also served as National Security Council Chief of Staff.[14]

On October 20, 2010, President Barack Obama announced that McDonough would be replacing Thomas E. Donilon as Deputy National Security Advisor, who had been promoted to succeed General James L. Jones as National Security Advisor.[15] McDonough was seen in photos of the White House Situation Room taken during the monitoring of the SEAL operation in Pakistan that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.[16]

On January 20, 2013, at the beginning of his second term in office, Obama appointed McDonough as his Chief of Staff.[7] In February 2013 McDonough urged lawmakers to quickly confirm Chuck Hagel and John O. Brennan to their posts in Obama's national security team, expressing "grave concern" about the delays.

Return to private life

In 2017, McDonough joined the Markle Foundation,[17] a non-profit that aims to "transform America's outdated labor market to reflect the needs of the digital economy", boost employment opportunities, and expand job training for Americans. As a senior principal,[18] McDonough worked to grow the organization nationwide and broaden its work with governments such as the state of Colorado, public institutions such as Arizona State University, and private companies such as LinkedIn.[19] [18]

McDonough is a professor of the practice at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs and also a visiting senior fellow in Carnegie's Technology and International Affairs Program.[20][17]

Biden Administration

McDonough being sworn in on February 9, 2021

President Joe Biden nominated McDonough to lead the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.[21] He appeared before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on January 27, 2021. On February 8, 2021, the United States Senate confirmed McDonough to be Secretary of the VA in a vote of 87–7, with six senators absent.[22] McDonough is the second non-veteran to serve in this position.[23] He was sworn into office by Vice President Kamala Harris on February 9, 2021.[24]

Personal life

McDonough is married to Karin Hillstrom.[5] They have three children.[5]

References

  1. ^ @Transition46 (December 10, 2020). "Working families, veterans, farmers and producers, and those fighting for their place in the middle class will have partners in government once again. This experienced group will help us make it through this pandemic and thrive once the crisis is over" (Tweet). Retrieved December 10, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ The Washington Post (2013). Denis McDonough to be Obama's new chief of staff. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d "The New Team". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  4. ^ "Who is Denis McDonough?". Our Daily Thread. January 25, 2013. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c O'Dowd, Niall (January 25, 2013). "Denis McDonough new Obama Chief of Staff deeply proud of his Irish heritage". Irish Central. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  6. ^ Boldt, Megan (January 25, 2013). "Denis McDonough: Obama picks Stillwater native as chief of staff". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Denis McDonough – Keough School – University of Notre Dame". Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Arthur Eisele (Winter 2009). "At Home in the West Wing: An Interview with Denis McDonough '92" (PDF). Saint John's Magazine. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 4, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  9. ^ Thayer Evans (September 18, 2009). "No Whistles, No Tackling and No End in Sight for St. John's Coach". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  10. ^ a b Garance Franke-Ruta (October 22, 2010). "Denis McDonough: Five things worth knowing". WhoRunsGov. The Washington Post Company. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  11. ^ Keating, Joshua E. "6 Things You Need to Know About Denis McDonough". Foreign Policy. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  12. ^ Monica Langley (September 22, 2007). "From the Campaign to the Battlefront". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  13. ^ "Obama's People". The New York Times Magazine. January 18, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  14. ^ Helene Cooper (July 9, 2010). "The Saturday Profile: The Adviser at the Heart of National Security". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  15. ^ Peter Baker (October 22, 2010). "Obama Making National Security Appointment". The New York Times. The Caucus Blog. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  16. ^ "Osama bin Laden Situation Room Photo: Where Are They Now?". Time. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Denis McDonough – Keough School – University of Notre Dame". Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  18. ^ a b "Denis McDonough Joins the Markle Foundation". Markle | Advancing America's Future. February 13, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  19. ^ Megan R. Wilson (February 15, 2017). "Obama's chief of staff joins foundation with focus on jobs". The Hill. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  20. ^ "Denis McDonough". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  21. ^ "WATCH: VA Secretary nominee Denis McDonough testifies in Senate confirmation hearing". PBS News Hour. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  22. ^ "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress – 1st Session". US Senate. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  23. ^ Shane III, Leo (December 10, 2020). "Biden to name former WH Chief of Staff Denis McDonough as VA Secretary nominee". Defense News. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  24. ^ Wentling, Nikki (February 9, 2021). "McDonough is sworn in as VA secretary; calls it the 'honor of my lifetime'". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
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Political offices
Preceded by Deputy National Security Advisor
2010–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by White House Chief of Staff
2013–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
2021–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Secretary of Education Order of precedence of the United States
as Secretary of Veterans Affairs 		Succeeded byas Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded byas Secretary of Education 17th in line
as Secretary of Veterans Affairs 		Succeeded byas Secretary of Homeland Security
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