Denis McDonough
| Denis McDonough | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 26th White House Chief of Staff | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 25, 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Jack Lew |
| Deputy National Security Advisor | |
| In office October 22, 2010 – January 25, 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Thomas Donilon |
| Succeeded by | Tony Blinken |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Denis Richard McDonough December 2, 1969 Stillwater, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Alma mater | St. John's University, Minnesota Georgetown University |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Denis Richard McDonough (born December 2, 1969) is the 26th and current White House Chief of Staff, succeeding Jack Lew during President Obama's second term.[1]
Early life and education
McDonough was born on December 2, 1969, in Stillwater, Minnesota.[2] He was one of eleven children of William and Kathleen McDonough.[3] McDonough attended Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he played safety on the Johnnies football team for Hall of Fame coach John Gagliardi.[4][5] McDonough was a member of teams that won two conference titles in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.[4] McDonough graduated from Saint John's University with a B.A. summa cum laude in history and Spanish in 1992.[4] He was raised in a devout Catholic family.[6]
After graduation, McDonough traveled extensively throughout Latin America and taught high school in Belize.[4] He then attended Georgetown University and graduated with an MSFS degree from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in 1996.[4]
Early career
From 1996 to 1999, McDonough worked as an aide to the House Foreign Affairs Committee,[7] where he focused on Latin America.[2] McDonough then served as a senior foreign policy advisor to Senator Tom Daschle.[4] After Daschle's re-election defeat in 2004, McDonough became legislative director for newly elected Senator Ken Salazar.[4] McDonough later served as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in 2004.[2]
In 2007, Senator Barack Obama's chief foreign policy advisor, Navy reservist Mark Lippert, was called into active duty and recruited McDonough to serve as his replacement during Lippert's deployment to Iraq.[4][8] McDonough continued to serve as a senior foreign policy advisor to Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.[2][9]
Obama administration
After President Obama's election, he joined the administration as the National Security Council's head of Strategic Communication.[7] He also served as National Security Council Chief of Staff.[10]
On October 22, 2010, President Barack Obama announced that McDonough would be replacing Thomas E. Donilon as Deputy National Security Advisor, who was leaving his position to succeed General James L. Jones as National Security Advisor.[11] 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.
On January 25, 2013, Obama appointed Denis McDonough as his Chief of Staff. 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.
As Chief of Staff, the former Congressional staffer has made greater outreach to Republican Senators a major priority, with several Republicans referring to his tenure as Chief of Staff as a breath of fresh air.[12]
References
- ↑ The Washington Post (2013). Denis McDonough to be Obama’s new chief of staff. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Michael Cooper (November 23, 2008). "The New Team". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ↑ George Thole (April 17, 2008). "Thole: Remember sacrifices of those who serve". Stillwater Gazette. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Arthur Eisele (Winter 2009). "At Home in the West Wing: An Interview with Denis McDonough '92". Saint John's Magazine. Retrieved October 23, 2010 .
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Who is Denis McDonough?". Our Daily Thread. 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Garance Franke-Ruta (October 22, 2010). "Denis McDonough: Five things worth knowing". WhoRunsGov. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ↑ Monica Langley (September 22, 2007). "From the Campaign to the Battlefront". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ↑ "Obama's People". The New York Times Magazine. January 18, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ↑ Helene Cooper (July 9, 2010). "The Saturday Profile: The Adviser at the Heart of National Security". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ↑ Peter Baker (October 22, 2010). "Obama Making National Security Appointment". The Caucus Blog. The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ↑ Michael Cass, (August 22, 2013) "Sen. Bob Corker explains why he missed the President's speech" http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130822/NEWS/308220114/1972/NEWS02. The Tennessean, Retrieved August 23, 2013
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Denis McDonough. |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Donilon |
Deputy National Security Advisor 2010–2013 |
Succeeded by Tony Blinken |
| Preceded by Jack Lew |
White House Chief of Staff 2013–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by Jeh Johnson as Secretary of Homeland Security |
Order of Precedence of the United States as White House Chief of Staff |
Succeeded by Sylvia Mathews Burwell as Director of the Office of Management and Budget |
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