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Notre Dame Keough School professor Denis McDonough confirmed as Veterans Affairs Secretary
Observer Staff Report | Tuesday, February 9, 2021
The U.S. Senate confirmed Denis McDonough as President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Veterans Affairs. McDonough is a professor of the practice of public policy in the Keough School of Global Affairs.
McDonough served the Obama administration as the White House chief of staff from February 2013 to January 2017. He joined Notre Dame as a faculty member in 2017 and will remain on the faculty on academic leave.
McDonough has taught courses in public policy analysis, formulating and writing policy, government and nongovernmental organization management and leadership.
He has also recently worked on the Keough School’s Global Policy Initiative and the Presidential Transition index, which studies weaknesses in the current presidential transition process.
President Biden nominated McDonough in December.
University President Fr. John Jenkins congratulated McDonough in a press release.
“Along with his fellow faculty members in the Keough School of Global Affairs and many other friends and colleagues on campus, I congratulate Denis McDonough on his confirmation this evening by the U.S. Senate as Veterans Affairs secretary,“ Jenkins said in the release. “The military men and women who have served our nation deserve nothing but excellence in representation. Thanks to his vast experience in government and public affairs, Denis will provide just that.”
