Denis McDonough

Denis McDonough
Denis McDonough
	Official portrait, 2021
11th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; February 9, 2021
President	Joe Biden
Deputy	Donald Remy; Guy Kiyokawa (acting); Tanya J. Bradsher;
Preceded by	Robert Wilkie
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
25th United States Deputy National Security Advisor
	In office; October 20, 2010 – January 20, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Thomas E. Donilon
Succeeded by	Antony Blinken
Personal details
Born	Denis Richard McDonough; December 2, 1969 (age 54); Stillwater, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Karin Hillstrom
Children	3
Education	St. John's University, Minnesota (BA); Georgetown University (MS)
	Denis McDonough's voice Denis McDonough's opening statement at his confirmation hearing to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Recorded January 27, 2021

Denis Richard McDonough (born December 2, 1969) is an American government official serving under President Joe Biden since 2021 as the eleventh United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs.^[1]

McDonough served in the Obama administration as chief of staff at the National Security Council from 2009 to 2010 and as Deputy National Security Advisor from 2010 to 2013. He then served as White House Chief of Staff for the full second term of President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017.^[2]

Early life and education

McDonough was born on December 2, 1969, in Stillwater, Minnesota.^[3] He was one of 11 children in a devout Irish Catholic family, his grandparents having emigrated 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. McDonough graduated from Saint John's University with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in history and Spanish in 1992. After graduation, he traveled extensively throughout Latin America and taught high school in Belize.^[8]

In 1996, McDonough 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] He then served as a senior foreign policy advisor to Senator Tom Daschle.^[8] After Daschle's reelection 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 his 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

After Obama was elected president, McDonough 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, Obama announced that McDonough would replace 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 May 2011 SEAL operation in Pakistan that resulted in the Osama bin Laden's death.^[16]

On January 20, 2013, at the beginning of his second term in office, Obama appointed McDonough 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. McDonough served as White House chief of staff through the end of Obama's second term, which ended on January 20, 2017.

Return to private life

In 2017, McDonough joined the Markle Foundation,^[17] a nonprofit 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] he 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 a visiting senior fellow in Carnegie's Technology and International Affairs Program.^[20]^[17]

Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2021–present)

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, the Senate confirmed McDonough as VA Secretary by a 87–7 vote, with six senators absent.^[22] McDonough is the second non-veteran to hold this position.^[23] Vice President Kamala Harris swore him in on February 9.^[24]

Personal life

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

References

^ @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.
^ Nakamura, David (November 26, 2021). "Denis McDonough to be Obama's new chief of staff". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "The New Team". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
^ "Who is Denis McDonough?". Our Daily Thread. January 25, 2013. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
^ ^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.
^ Boldt, Megan (January 25, 2013). "Denis McDonough: Obama picks Stillwater native as chief of staff". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Denis McDonough – Keough School – University of Notre Dame". Retrieved January 21, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 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.
^ 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.
^ ^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.
^ Keating, Joshua E. (January 16, 2013). "6 Things You Need to Know About Denis McDonough". Foreign Policy. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
^ 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 New York Times. The Caucus Blog. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
^ "Osama bin Laden Situation Room Photo: Where Are They Now?". Time. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Denis McDonough – Keough School – University of Notre Dame". Retrieved December 18, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Denis McDonough Joins the Markle Foundation". Markle | Advancing America's Future. February 13, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
^ Megan R. Wilson (February 15, 2017). "Obama's chief of staff joins foundation with focus on jobs". The Hill. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
^ "Denis McDonough". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
^ "WATCH: VA Secretary nominee Denis McDonough testifies in Senate confirmation hearing". PBS NewsHour. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
^ "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress – 1st Session". US Senate. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
^ 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.
^ 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.

External links

Biography at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Appearances on C-SPAN
Denis McDonough at IMDb

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 2013–2017	Succeeded by Reince Priebus
Preceded by Robert Wilkie	United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs 2021–present	Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Miguel Cardona as Secretary of Education	Order of precedence of the United States as Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Succeeded by Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by Miguel Cardona as Secretary of Education	16th in line as Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Succeeded by Alejandro Mayorkas Ineligible as Secretary of Homeland Security

[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] Nakamura, David (November 26, 2021). "Denis McDonough to be Obama's new chief of staff". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 25, 2024.

[nytimes_20081123-3] "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.

[:0-5] 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.

[:1-7] "Denis McDonough – Keough School – University of Notre Dame". Retrieved January 21, 2019.

[sjualum_winter2009-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 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.

[nytimes_20090918-9] 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.

[whorunsgov_20101022-10] 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. (January 16, 2013). "6 Things You Need to Know About Denis McDonough". Foreign Policy. Retrieved January 22, 2019.

[wsj_20070922-12] Monica Langley (September 22, 2007). "From the Campaign to the Battlefront". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 23, 2010.

[BOpeeps-13] "Obama's People". The New York Times Magazine. January 18, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2010.

[nytimes_20100709-14] Helene Cooper (July 9, 2010). "The Saturday Profile: The Adviser at the Heart of National Security". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2010.

[nytimes_20101022-15] 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.

[keough.nd.edu-17] "Denis McDonough – Keough School – University of Notre Dame". Retrieved December 18, 2018.

[:2-18] "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 NewsHour. 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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Denis McDonough

Early life and education

Career

Obama administration

Return to private life

Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2021–present)

Personal life

References

External links

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