Denis McDonough

Denis Richard McDonough (born December 2, 1969) is an American government official who served as the 11th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden.

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.

Early life and education McDonough was born on December 2, 1969, in Stillwater, Minnesota. He was one of 11 children in a devout Irish Catholic family, his grandparents having emigrated from Connemara in the Gaeltacht.

McDonough graduated from Stillwater Area High School in 1988, then attended Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, He played safety on the Johnnies football team for Hall of Fame coach John Gagliardi, 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. where he focused on Latin America. Lippert recruited McDonough to serve as his replacement during his deployment to Iraq. McDonough continued to serve as a senior foreign policy advisor to Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.

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 Obama was elected president, McDonough joined the administration as the National Security Council's head of strategic communication.

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. 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.

On January 20, 2013, at the beginning of his second term in office, Obama appointed McDonough his chief of staff. a nonprofit that aims to "transform America's outdated labor market to reflect the needs of the digital economy," boost employment opportunities, and expand job training for Americans.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, 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. a non-profit organization of food banks and advocate for policy to ensure food security for all Americans.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2021–2025)

President Joe Biden nominated McDonough to lead the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 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. McDonough is the second non-veteran to hold this position. Vice President Kamala Harris swore him in on February 9.

During McDonough's tenure as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the department implemented the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which expanded VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, and other toxic substances. By early 2024, VA reported processing more than one million PACT Act-related claims and broadening health care eligibility to millions of such veterans. The department also reported housing nearly 48,000 veterans experiencing homelessness in permanent housing during fiscal year 2024.

Personal life McDonough is married to Karin Hillstrom.