Denis McDonough

Denis Richard McDonough is an American public servant who held the office of United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from February 2021 to February 2025, serving under President Joe Biden. Prior to that appointment, he was a senior aide in the Obama administration, holding key positions such as chief of staff at the National Security Council, Deputy National Security Advisor, and White House Chief of Staff during Barack Obama’s second term. After leaving public office, McDonough returned to the private sector and nonprofit world, taking on leadership roles that focused on workforce development and food security.

Early life and career

McDonough was born on December 2, 1969, in Stillwater, Minnesota, into a large Irish Catholic family of eleven children. His grandparents had emigrated from Connemara, an area within the Gaeltacht region of Ireland. He completed his secondary education at Stillwater Area High School in 1988 before enrolling at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. While there, he played safety on the university’s football team under Hall of Fame coach John Gagliardi and contributed to two conference championships in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in history and Spanish in 1992.

Following graduation, McDonough spent time traveling throughout Latin America and taught high school in Belize. In 1996 he returned to the United States to pursue graduate studies at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he earned a Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS).

From 1996 to 1999 McDonough worked as an aide for the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, concentrating on Latin American policy issues. He then served as senior foreign policy advisor to Senator Tom Daschle. After Daschle’s reelection defeat in 2004, McDonough became legislative director for newly elected Senator Ken Salazar. In that same year he was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

In 2007, Mark Lippert—Barack Obama’s chief foreign policy advisor and a Navy reservist who had been called to active duty—recruited McDonough to replace him during his deployment to Iraq. McDonough continued as a senior foreign policy advisor to Obama throughout the 2008 presidential campaign.

Cabinet tenure

Following Barack Obama’s election, McDonough joined the administration as head of strategic communication for the National Security Council (NSC) and later served as NSC chief of staff. On October 20, 2010 President Obama announced that McDonough would succeed Thomas E. Donilon as Deputy National Security Advisor. In this capacity he was present in the White House Situation Room during the operation that led to the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

When the second term began on January 20, 2013, President Obama appointed McDonough as White House Chief of Staff. He held that position until the conclusion of Obama’s presidency on January 20, 2017. During his tenure, he advocated for the swift confirmation of key national security appointments and managed day‑to‑day operations at the White House.

After leaving government service in 2017, McDonough joined the Markle Foundation as a senior principal. He worked to expand the foundation’s reach across the United States and to strengthen partnerships with state governments, universities, and private companies. He also served as professor of the practice at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs and as a visiting senior fellow in Carnegie Mellon University’s Technology and International Affairs Program.

On January 27, 2021 McDonough appeared before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee to discuss his nomination by President Joe Biden for United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The Senate confirmed him on February 8, 2021, with an 87–7 vote; six senators were absent during the roll call. Vice President Kamala Harris administered the oath of office on February 9, 2021. McDonough became the second person who had not served in the military to hold the VA secretary position.

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

Legacy

McDonough’s career reflects a trajectory from legislative aide to senior national security advisor and finally to cabinet secretary overseeing one of the nation’s largest federal agencies. His work on Latin American policy, his strategic communication role at the NSC, and his leadership as White House Chief of Staff positioned him for later responsibilities within the Biden administration.

As Secretary of Veterans Affairs, McDonough oversaw significant policy implementations that expanded benefits for veterans exposed to hazardous conditions during service. The processing of over one million PACT Act claims by 2024 and the placement of nearly half a million veterans in permanent housing are measurable outcomes associated with his tenure. These actions contributed to broader efforts within the Department to improve access to health care, streamline claims procedures, and address veteran homelessness.

After leaving the VA, McDonough continued public service through nonprofit leadership roles, including a position as CEO of Feeding America beginning in 2026, where he focuses on food security initiatives across the United States. His personal life includes marriage to Karin Hillstrom and fatherhood to three children; his oldest brother Kevin serves as a Catholic priest with the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

McDonough’s legacy is characterized by a blend of legislative experience, national security expertise, and executive management within federal agencies, underscored by tangible improvements in veteran benefits and housing during his time at the Department of Veterans Affairs.