Denis McDonough

Denis McDonough
26th White House Chief of Staff
In office January 20, 2013 – January 20, 2017
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Jack Lew
Succeeded by	Reince Priebus
Deputy National Security Advisor
In office October 20, 2010 – January 20, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Thomas Donilon
Succeeded by	Tony Blinken
Personal details
Born	Denis Richard McDonough (1969-12-02) December 2, 1969 Stillwater, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Karin Hillstrom
Education	St. John's University, Minnesota (BA) Georgetown University (MS)

Denis Richard McDonough (born December 2, 1969) was the 26th White House Chief of Staff, succeeding Jack Lew at the start of President Barack Obama's second term.^[1]

Early life

McDonough was born on December 2, 1969, in Stillwater, Minnesota.^[2] He is one of eleven children of Kathleen Marie (O'Mahony) and William Joseph McDonough.^[3][4] He was raised in a devout Catholic family.^[5]

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.^[6][7] McDonough was a member of teams that won two conference titles in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.^[6] McDonough graduated from Saint John's University with a B.A. summa cum laude in history and Spanish in 1992.^[6] After graduation, McDonough traveled extensively throughout Latin America and taught high school in Belize.^[6]

He graduated from Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service with an MSFS degree in 1996.^[6]

Early career

From 1996 to 1999, McDonough worked as an aide to the House Foreign Affairs Committee,^[8] where he focused on Latin America.^[2] McDonough then served as a senior foreign policy advisor to Senator Tom Daschle.^[6] After Daschle's re-election defeat in 2004, McDonough became legislative director for newly elected Senator Ken Salazar.^[6] 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.^[6][9] McDonough continued to serve as a senior foreign policy advisor to Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.^[2][10]

Obama administration

After President Obama's election, he joined the administration as the National Security Council's head of Strategic Communication.^[8] He also served as National Security Council Chief of Staff.^[11]

McDonough, seated, third from right in blue shirt, in the Situation Room during the Bin Laden raid.

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.^[12] 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 20, 2013, at the beginning of his second term in office, Obama appointed 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 made greater outreach to Republican Senators a major priority, with one Republican referring to his tenure as Chief of Staff as "a breath of fresh air".^[13]

Post Administration

In 2017 McDonough has joined the Markle Foundation. The organization is putting a focus on boosting employment opportunities and expanding job training for Americans, it said. McDonough is coming to Markle as a senior principal, where he will help broaden the partnership between the foundation and other organizations, including governments and public institutions, aiming to “transform America’s outdated labor market to reflect the needs of the digital economy,” according to the organization.^[14] Markle has a public-private initiative called Skillful, which helps workers gain new skills through certificate programs, online training, community college and college courses. Founded in Colorado last year, Skillful is looking to expand and needs a CEO. McDonough will work to build up Skillful’s partnerships — which already include LinkedIn, the state of Colorado, Arizona State University and others — and develop a strategy to grow the organization nationwide.

McDonough is also a visiting senior fellow in Carnegie’s Technology and International Affairs Program.^[15]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Denis McDonough.

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Collected news and commentary at Bloomberg
• Profile on Politico

Obama administration personnel
Cabinet and cabinet-level Office Name Term Office Name Term Secretary of State John Kerry 2013–2017 Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew 2013–2017 Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter 2015–2017 Attorney General Loretta Lynch 2015–2017 Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell 2013–2017 Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack 2009–2017 Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker 2013–2017 Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez 2013–2017 Secretary of Health and   Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell 2014–2017 Secretary of Education Secretary of Transportation John King Jr. Anthony Foxx 2016–2017 2013–2017 Secretary of Housing and Urban   Development Julian Castro 2014–2017 Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald 2014–2017 Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz 2013–2017 Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson 2013–2017 Vice President Joe Biden 2009–2017 White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough 2013–2017 Director of the Office of Management and   Budget Shaun Donovan 2014–2017 Administrator of the Environmental   Protection Agency Gina McCarthy 2013–2017 Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power 2013–2017 Chair of the Council of Economic   Advisers Jason Furman 2013–2017 Trade Representative Michael Froman 2013–2017 Administrator of the Small Business Administration Maria Contreras-Sweet 2014–2017 Below solid line: Granted Cabinet rank although not automatically part of the Cabinet. See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet
Executive Office of the President Office Name Term Office Name Term White House Chief of Staff White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Rahm Emanuel Pete Rouse William M. Daley Jack Lew Denis McDonough Mona Sutphen Nancy-Ann DeParle Rob Nabors 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–17 2009–11 2011–13 2013–15 National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan Jim Jones Thomas E. Donilon Susan Rice Thomas E. Donilon Denis McDonough Tony Blinken Avril Haines Douglas Lute† 2009–10 2010–13 2013–17 2009–10 2010–13 2013–14 2015–17 2009–13 White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Jim Messina 2009–11 Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes 2009–17 Alyssa Mastromonaco Anita Decker Breckenridge 2011–14 2014–17 Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security John O. Brennan Lisa Monaco 2009–13 2013–17 White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning Mark B. Childress Kristie Canegallo 2012–14 2014–17 Deputy National Security Advisor and NSC Chief of Staff Denis McDonough 2009–10 Senior Advisor to the President David Axelrod David Plouffe Daniel Pfeiffer Shailagh Murray 2009–11 2011–13 2013–15 2015–17 White House Communications Director Anita Dunn Daniel Pfeiffer Jennifer Palmieri Jen Psaki 2009 2009–13 2013–15 2015–17 Senior Advisor to the President Counselor to the President Pete Rouse Brian Deese Pete Rouse John Podesta 2009–10 2015–17 2011–13 2014–15 Deputy White House Communications Director Jen Psaki Jennifer Palmieri 2009–11 2011–14 Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Director of Public Engagement Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Director, National Economic Council Valerie Jarrett Christina Tchen Jon Carson Cecilia Muñoz Jerry Abramson Lawrence Summers Gene Sperling Jeffrey Zients 2009–17 2009–11 2011–13 2009–12 2014–17 2009–10 2011–14 2014–17 White House Press Secretary Deputy Press Secretary Director of Special Projects Director of Speechwriting White House Counsel Robert Gibbs Jay Carney Josh Earnest Bill Burton Josh Earnest Stephanie Cutter Jon Favreau Cody Keenan Greg Craig Robert Bauer Kathryn Ruemmler Neil Eggleston 2009–11 2011–13 2013–17 2009–11 2011–13 2010–11 2009–13 2013–17 2009–10 2010–11 2011–14 2014–17 Deputy Director, National Economic Council Deputy Director, National Economic Council Chair of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Diana Farrell Brian Deese Jason Furman Paul Volcker 2009–11 2011–13 2009–13 2009–11 Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Phil Schiliro Rob Nabors Katie Beirne Fallon Amy Rosenbaum 2009–11 2011–13 2013–16 2016–17 Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Christina Romer Austan Goolsbee Jason Furman 2009–10 2010–13 2013–17 Member of the Council of Economic Advisors Katharine Abraham 2011–17 Member of the Council of Economic Advisors Cecilia Rouse 2009–17 Director, Office of Political Affairs Patrick Gaspard 2009–11 Director, Office of Management and Budget Peter R. Orszag Jack Lew Jeffrey Zients Sylvia Mathews Burwell Brian Deese Shaun Donovan 2009–10 2010–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014 2014–17 Chief Technology Officer Chief Information Officer Aneesh Chopra Todd Park Megan Smith Vivek Kundra Steven VanRoekel 2009–12 2012–14 2014–17 2009–11 2011–14 Chief Performance Officer and Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Zients 2009–13 Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Liebman Heather Higginbottom Brian Deese 2010 2011–13 2013–15 Director of Scheduling and Advance Director, White House Military Office Alyssa Mastromonaco Danielle Crutchfield Chase Cushman George Mulligan Emmett Beliveau 2009–11 2011–14 2014–17 2009–13 2013–15 United States Trade Representative Director, Domestic Policy Council Ron Kirk Michael Froman Melody Barnes Cecilia Muñoz 2009–13 2013–17 2009–12 2012–17 Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu 2009–13 Deputy Director, Domestic Policy Council Director, Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Heather Higginbottom Joshua DuBois Melissa Rogers 2009–11 2009–13 2013–17 Staff Secretary Lisa Brown Rajesh De Douglas Kramer Joani Walsh 2009–11 2011–12 2012–13 2014–17 Director, Office of Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle 2009–11 Deputy Director, Office of Health Reform Jeanne Lambrew 2009–11 Personal Aide to the President Reggie Love 2009–11 Director, Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner 2009–11 Personal Secretary to the President Katie Johnson Anita Decker Breckenridge Ferial Govashiri 2009–11 2011–14 2014–17 Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal 2009–13 Special Projects Coordinator and Confidential Assistant to the President Eugene Kang 2009–11 Director, Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley 2009–14 Director, Office of National AIDS Policy Jeffrey Crowley 2009–11 Chief of Staff to the First Lady   Jackie Norris Christina Tchen 2009 2011–17 Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy Director, Office of Urban Affairs Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy Gil Kerlikowske Michael Botticelli Adolfo Carrión Jr. John Holdren 2009–14 2014–17 2009–10 2009–17 White House Social Secretary Desirée Rogers Julianna Smoot Jeremy Bernard Deesha Dyer 2009–10 2010–11 2011–15 2015–17 *Senate-confirmation pending.   †Remained from previous administration(s).
Office of the Vice President Position Appointee Chief of Staff to the Vice President Steve Ricchetti Counsel to the Vice President Cynthia Hogan Counselor to the Vice President Mike Donilon Assistant to the Vice President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison Evan Ryan Assistant to the Vice President and Director of Communications Shailagh Murray Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President Shailagh Murray Deputy National Security Adviser to the Vice President Brian McKeon Residence Manager and Social Secretary for the Vice President and Second Lady Carlos Elizondo National Security Adviser to the Vice President Colin Kahl Position Appointee Chief of Staff to the Second Lady Catherine M. Russell Director of Administration for the Office of the Vice President Moises Vela Domestic Policy Adviser to the Vice President Terrell McSweeny Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to the Vice President Jared Bernstein Press Secretary to the Vice President Elizabeth Alexander Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President Annie Tomasini Director of Legislative Affairs Sudafi Henry Director of Communications for the Second Lady Courtney O’Donnell

Cabinet of President Barack Obama (2009–2017)
Cabinet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2009–2013) John Kerry (2013–2017) Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner (2009–2013) Jack Lew (2013–2017) Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (2009–2011) Leon Panetta (2011–2013) Chuck Hagel (2013–2015) Ash Carter (2015–2017) Attorney General Eric Holder (2009–2015) Loretta Lynch (2015–2017) Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar (2009–2013) Sally Jewell (2013–2017) Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (2009–2017) Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke (2009–2011) John Bryson (2011–2012) Penny Pritzker (2013–2017) Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis (2009–2013) Thomas Perez (2013–2017) Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius (2009–2014) Sylvia Mathews Burwell (2014–2017) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan (2009–2014) Julian Castro (2014–2017) Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood (2009–2013) Anthony Foxx (2013–2017) Secretary of Energy Steven Chu (2009–2013) Ernest Moniz (2013–2017) Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (2009–2016) John King (2016–2017) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki (2009–2014) Robert McDonald (2014–2017) Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (2009–2013) Jeh Johnson (2013–2017)
Cabinet-level Vice President Joe Biden (2009–2017) White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (2009–2010) William Daley (2011–2012) Jack Lew (2012–2013) Denis McDonough (2013–2017) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lisa Jackson (2009–2013) Gina McCarthy (2013–2017) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag (2009–2010) Jack Lew (2010–2012) Sylvia Mathews Burwell (2013–2014) Shaun Donovan (2014–2017) Trade Representative Ron Kirk (2009–2013) Michael Froman (2013–2017) Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice (2009–2013) Samantha Power (2013–2017) Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer (2009–2010) Austan Goolsbee (2010–2011) Alan Krueger (2011–2013) Jason Furman (2013–2017) Administrator of the Small Business Administration Karen Mills (2012–2013)** Maria Contreras-Sweet (2014–2017)
* Acting ** took office in 2009, raised to cabinet-rank in 2012 See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet

White House Chiefs of Staff
Steelman Adams Persons Watson Jones Haldeman Haig Rumsfeld Cheney Jordan Watson J. Baker Regan H. Baker Duberstein Sununu Skinner J. Baker McLarty Panetta Bowles Podesta Card Bolten Emanuel Daley Lew McDonough Priebus Kelly