Dana Remus

Last updated

Michael J. Irwin
(m. 2005,divorced)

Brett M. Holmgren
(m. 2018)
Dana Remus
Dana Remus.jpg
Remus in 2021
White House Counsel
In office
January 20, 2021 July 1, 2022
Education Harvard University (BA)
Yale University (JD)

Dana Ann Remus (born 1974/1975) is an American lawyer who served as White House counsel for U.S. President Joe Biden from January 2021 to July 2022. Prior to her appointment as White House counsel, Remus was general counsel for Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. Earlier in her career, she was deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel for ethics during the presidency of Barack Obama, was general counsel for the Obama Foundation from 2017 to 2019, and was counsel to Michelle Obama. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Dana Remus was born in New Hampshire [2] and raised in the town of Bedford. [3] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian studies from Harvard University in 1997 [4] and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 2002. [5] [6] While at Harvard, Remus rowed as senior heavyweight crew captain and tried out for the United States National Women's Rowing Team. [7]

Career

After graduating from law school, Remus clerked for Judge Anthony Scirica of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She eventually joined Cravath, Swaine & Moore (2002–05). In 2006, she began her academic career as an inaugural faculty member at the newly established Drexel University College of Law (now Thomas R. Kline School of Law) (2006–08). [8] In 2008, she clerked for Justice Samuel Alito of the Supreme Court of the United States. [9] She then taught from 2009 to 2013 at the University of New Hampshire School of Law [10] and property law and judicial and legal ethics at the University of North Carolina School of Law (2013–16).

Remus joined the Obama administration, serving in 2016 as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel for Ethics. After Obama left office, Remus joined the Obama Foundation (2017–20) as general counsel and also served as counsel to Michelle Obama. She left the Foundation in 2019 to become general counsel in 2020 for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign. [11]

Biden administration

Remus was named White House counsel on November 17, 2020. [12] She left her position in July 2022 and was replaced by Stuart F. Delery. [13] [14]

Remus is co-leading legal offensives on behalf of the Democratic Party against third-party candidates in the 2024 United States presidential election, alongside outside lawyer Robert D. Lenhard. [15]

Personal life

Dana Remus is married to Brett M. Holmgren, who serves as the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research in the Biden administration. The wedding took place on January 21, 2018, in Washington, D.C., with former President Barack Obama officiating. [16] The couple have one son. [17] Remus was previously married to Michael J. "Mike" Irwin, a rowing coach. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Fried</span> American judge (1935–2024)

Charles Anthony Fried was an American jurist and lawyer. He served as Solicitor General of the United States under President Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1989. He was a professor at Harvard Law School and a visiting professor at Columbia Law School. He also served on the board of the nonpartisan group, the Campaign Legal Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Klain</span> White House chief of staff from 2021 to 2023

Ronald Alan Klain is an American attorney, political consultant, and former lobbyist who served as White House chief of staff under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph A. Greenaway Jr.</span> American judge (born 1957)

Joseph Anthony Greenaway Jr. is an American lawyer who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 2010 to 2023. He also previously sat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey from 1996 to 2010. On February 9, 2010, he was confirmed to his seat on the Third Circuit, filling the vacancy created by Justice Samuel Alito's elevation to the United States Supreme Court. Greenaway had been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama. He is currently a partner at the law firm Arnold & Porter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Brown (lawyer)</span> American lawyer (born 1960)

Elizabeth Merrill "Lisa" Brown is an American lawyer who is the current General Counsel of the United States Department of Education. She previously served as the first White House Staff Secretary in the Obama administration, assuming that post on January 20, 2009. Earlier, during the 2008–2009 presidential transition, she served as Co-Chair of Agency Review. Prior to joining the Obama Transition Team, she served as Executive Director of the American Constitution Society, a progressive legal organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Bauer</span> American lawyer

Robert F. Bauer is an American attorney who served as White House Counsel under President Barack Obama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón</span> American attorney and diplomat (born 1975)

Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón is a Dominican Republic-born American attorney and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra from 2022 to 2024. Prior to her service as ambassador she was the chief of staff to First Lady Jill Biden. She formerly served as a litigation and international arbitration partner with the international law firm Winston & Strawn LLP. She was previously a partner with Chadbourne & Parke LLP, practicing in the firm's International Arbitration and Latin America groups. Reynoso is also affiliated with the faculty at Columbia University School of Law and the School of International and Public Affairs. From March 2012 until December 2014, she served as United States Ambassador to Uruguay. She is a former deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the United States Department of State. President Biden nominated her to be the next United States Ambassador to Spain on July 27, 2021, being confirmed on December 18, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Nathan</span> American judge (born 1972)

Alison Julie Nathan is an American lawyer who has served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since 2022. She served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2011 to 2022. She previously served as associate White House counsel for President Barack Obama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danielle C. Gray</span> U.S. government official

Danielle Gray is the former Assistant to the President, Cabinet Secretary, and a Senior Advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama. Previously, Gray served as Deputy Director of the National Economic Council and Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Gray is currently executive vice president and global chief legal officer of Walgreen Boots Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avril Haines</span> American lawyer (born 1969)

Avril Danica Haines is an American lawyer currently serving as the director of national intelligence in the Biden administration. She is the first woman to serve in this role. Haines previously was Deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the Obama administration. Prior to her appointment to the CIA, she was Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs in the Office of White House Counsel.

Rajesh "Raj" De is an American lawyer and former U.S. government official who later became the managing partner for the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm Mayer Brown. During the presidency of Barack Obama, he served in three significant government roles—as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy, as White House Staff Secretary, and finally as general counsel of the U.S. National Security Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Storch</span> American lawyer

Robert Phillip Storch is an American lawyer and government official serving as the inspector general in the United States Department of Defense under Joe Biden. He previously served as the inspector general of the National Security Agency.

Zina Gelman Bash is an American attorney who was a senior counsel to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire McCusker Murray</span> American attorney (born 1982)

Claire McCusker Murray is an American lawyer who served as associate White House counsel and acting associate attorney general in the United States Department of Justice during the Presidency of Donald Trump. She served in this position from May 14, 2019 until Joe Biden assumed the presidency on January 20, 2021. She is a member of the United States Sentencing Commission.

Carrie Campbell Severino is an American lawyer and conservative political activist. She is the president of the Concord Fund, where she supported the Supreme Court nominations of Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh. She is the coauthor of Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Delery</span> American lawyer (born 1968)

Stuart Frank Delery is an American attorney who served as the White House Counsel, from July 2022 to September 2023 succeeding Dana Remus. On August 17, 2023, Delery announced that he would depart his position, with Ed Siskel announced to replace him by early September

Jessica Hertz is an American attorney and political advisor who served as the White House staff secretary in the Biden administration from January to October 2021. Hertz previously served as general counsel for the presidential transition of Joe Biden and associate general counsel at Facebook. After leaving the White House, Hertz was named general counsel of e-commerce company Shopify.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Prelogar</span> U.S. Solicitor General since 2021

Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar is an American lawyer who has served as solicitor general of the United States since October 2021. She served as acting solicitor general from January 20, 2021, at the start of the Biden administration, until President Joe Biden sent her nomination to the U.S. Senate on August 11, 2021, when she was prevented from serving while the nomination was before the Senate as a result of the terms of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett M. Holmgren</span> American lawyer & intelligence official

Brett Michael Holmgren is an American intelligence official who had served assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research in the Biden administration. He currently serves as the acting director for the National Counterterrorism Center.

Ian Bassin is an American lawyer, writer, and activist who serves as executive director of Protect Democracy. He previously served as Associate White House Counsel under President Obama.

Brian Fletcher is an American lawyer who serves as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. He served as Acting Solicitor General from August 11, 2021, until Elizabeth Prelogar's confirmation on October 21, 2021.

References

  1. Madhani, Aamer; Tucker, Eric; Miller, Zeke (October 24, 2021). "To navigate legal quandaries, Biden leans on low-key counsel". Associated Press. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Aldridge, Bailey (November 17, 2020). "Who is Dana Remus? Senior counsel to President-elect Biden has a North Carolina tie". The News & Observer. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  3. DiStaso, John (November 19, 2020). "NH Primary Source: Newly named Biden legal counsel Dana Remus was raised in Bedford". WMUR-9. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  4. Hochman, Dafna V. (June 4, 1997). "Pulling for the Team". Harvard Crimson.
  5. Kashino, Marisa M. (October 26, 2020). "If the Election Leads to a Legal Battle, Here Are the Lawyers Who Will Head Up the Fight". Washingtonian. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  6. "Biden for President Campaign Organization - Staff, Advisors and Supporters". www.democracyinaction.us. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  7. "Pulling for the Team | News | the Harvard Crimson".
  8. "Drexel Law lines up faculty - Philadelphia Business Journal". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  9. Ollstein, Alice Miranda; Cook, Nancy. "Biden names former Alito clerk to top White House job". POLITICO. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  10. "Two Members of the Rudman Advisory Board Named to Top Posts in Biden Administration". University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. December 3, 2020.
  11. Shear, Michael D. (November 18, 2020). "Dana Remus Has Taken an Unlikely Path to the White House Counsel's Office". The New York Times.
  12. Barber, C. Ryan (November 17, 2020). "Former Alito Clerk Dana Remus Is Named Biden White House Counsel". National Law Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  13. Samuels, Brett (July 15, 2022). "White House counsel Dana Remus to leave role next month". The Hill. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  14. Johnson, Carrie (June 15, 2022). "Dana Remus made legal history in the White House. Now she's moving on". NPR. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  15. O'Brien, Rebecca Davis (March 20, 2024). "Democrats Prepare Aggressive Counter to Third-Party Threats". The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  16. Garrison Phillips, Hayley (January 23, 2018). "President Obama Officiated at a Wedding in DC This Past Weekend". Washingtonian . Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  17. "Statement of Brett Holmgren Nominee for Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Senate Foreign Relations Committee" (PDF). foreign.senate.gov. June 15, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  18. "Mike Irwin - Head Coach - Staff Directory".
Legal offices
Preceded by White House Counsel
2021–2022
Succeeded by