Kenneth Leonard Wainstein (born 1962) is an American lawyer.[1] He served as the first assistant attorney general for national security, and later as the homeland security advisor to United States President George W. Bush. In 2022 under the Biden administration, he was appointed under secretary of homeland security for intelligence and analysis.[2][3]
Ken Wainstein | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis | |
| Assumed office June 13, 2022 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | David Glawe |
| 4th United States Homeland Security Advisor | |
| In office March 30, 2008 – January 20, 2009 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Frances Townsend |
| Succeeded by | John O. Brennan |
| United States Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division | |
| In office September 28, 2006 – March 30, 2008 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Rowan |
| United States Attorney for the District of Columbia | |
| In office May 2004 – September 28, 2006 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Roscoe Howard |
| Succeeded by | Ronald Machen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kenneth Leonard Wainstein 1962 (age 61–62) |
| Education | University of Virginia (BA) University of California, Berkeley (JD) |
Education
editWainstein is a graduate of the University of Virginia and earned his JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.[1]
Career
editWainstein worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as General Counsel and as Chief of Staff to the FBI Director.[1] He was the United States attorney for the District of Columbia.[1]
On September 26, 2006, he was sworn in as the Department of Justice's assistant attorney general responsible for National Security.[4]
Wainstein was appointed homeland security advisor by President George W. Bush on March 30, 2008. He was also assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism and chaired the Homeland Security Council. He was appointed as the "national continuity coordinator" under the auspices of National Security Presidential Directive 51.[5]
Wainstein also serves as a member of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, a group that encourages and advocates changes to government policy to strengthen national biodefense.[6]
In 2020, Wainstein, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement asserting that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "to that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."[7]
In October 2020, Wainstein signed a letter, along with nineteen other Republican-appointed former U.S. attorneys, calling President Donald Trump "a threat to the rule of law in our country" and endorsing Joe Biden.[8]
On November 5, 2021, President Joseph Biden nominated Wainstein for the position of under secretary of homeland security for intelligence and analysis. The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held its open hearing on his nomination on January 12, 2022.[9] The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held its hearing on his nomination on February 3, 2022.[10] The full Senate voted to confirm Wainstein 63–35 on June 7, 2022.[3] He was sworn in on June 13, 2022.[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Kenneth L. Wainstein Sworn in as First Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division: Other Senior National Security Division Officials Announced". United States Department of Justice. 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ "Statement by DNI Haines on the Confirmation of Kenneth L. Wainstein to Lead the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis". www.dni.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
- ^ a b "Kenneth L. Wainstein, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security." Roll call vote 217, via Senate.gov
- ^ "Official Bio". Retrieved October 25, 2011.
- ^ "National Security Presidential Directive". Retrieved October 25, 2011.
- ^ "Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense". www.biodefensestudy.org. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
- ^ "Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden". Defending Democracy Together. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ Hamburger, Tom; Barrett, Devlin (October 27, 2020). "Former U.S. attorneys — all Republicans — back Biden, saying Trump threatens 'the rule of law'". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Hearings | Intelligence Committee". www.intelligence.senate.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
- ^ "Nominations of William J. Valdez to be Under Secretary for Management, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Dimitri Kusnezov to be Under Secretary for Science & Technology, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and the Honorable Kenneth L. Wainstein to be Under Secretary for Intelligence & Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland Security". U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 2022-02-03. Archived from the original on 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
- ^ United States Department of Homeland Security [@DHSgov] (June 13, 2022). "Today @SecMayorkas swore in Kenneth L. Wainstein, our new Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis" (Tweet). Retrieved 2022-06-17 – via Twitter.
External links
edit
Media related to Kenneth L. Wainstein at Wikimedia Commons
