Oral history interview with Denis R. McDonough, 2022
Abstract
Denis McDonough reflects on his contributions to the foreign policy of the Obama administration and on his role in the Obama White House, which included service in a variety of positions including chief of staff of the National Security Council (NSC), principal deputy national security advisor, and White House chief of staff. McDonough outlines the responsibilities of each of his positions, and spe aks broadly about the range of major foreign policy events, issues, and initiatives with which he was closely involved. He details notable issues including the reviews of the strategies for Iraq and Afghanistan; Obama's major introductory foreign policy speeches in 2009; the administration's response to the events of the Arab Spring; the internal deliberations surrounding the possibility of U.S. military intervention in Libya and Syria; the administration's response to natural disasters around the world; and Obama's commitment to U.S. participation in international institutions. McDonough also discusses his approach to his tenure as White House chief of staff, and describes his management of internal White House processes and the processes by which Obama solicited recommendations from his advisors and made major decisions. McDonough also remembers significant domestic issues that took place during his tenure as chief of staff, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre; the escalation of the tactics used by congressional Republicans to oppose the administration; the government shutdown in October 2013; the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in Ferguson, M.O.; and the administration's launch of the President's Task Force on Twenty-First Century Policing. Also discussed are the importance of civilian control of the military during the years of the Obama presidency, the deliberative walks around the White House grounds that McDonough would take with President Obama, McDonough's work on the Obama 2008 presidential campaign, and how the administration's work on issues relating to veterans and military families influenced McDonough's service as secretary of veterans affairs in the Biden-Harris administration
Presidents--United States; Iraq War, 2003-2011; Afghan War, 2001-2021; Arab Spring, 2010-; Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre, Newtown, Conn., 2012; Black lives matter movement; Families of military personnel--Services for--United States; Veterans--Services for--United States; Libya History Civil War, 2011-; Syria History Civil War, 2011-; McDonough, Denis R., 1969-; Obama, Barack; National Security Council (U.S.); United States. President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
90 pages
Note (Biographical)
Denis McDonough served in the Obama administration as the White House chief of staff from February 2013 to January 2017. Prior to that role, McDonough was principal deputy national security advisor from October 2010 to January 2013, was chief of staff of the National Security Council, and was the deputy national security advisor for strategic communications. During the 2008 presidential campaign, McDonough served as senior foreign policy advisor for Obama for America. Before his eight-year tenure in the Obama administration, McDonough served in senior leadership and policy-making positions in the U.S. House of Representatives as a professional staff member on the International Relations Committee, and in the U.S. Senate for Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Senator Ken Salazar. At the time of the interview, McDonough was the United States secretary of veterans affairs
Note
Interviewed by Evan D. McCormick on May 2 and 26, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Denis R. McDonough, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023