Daniel Koh

Amy Jean Sennett

​

(m. 2016)​

^[2]

Daniel Koh
Official portrait, 2021
Deputy White House Cabinet Secretary
In office August 2022 –January 2025
Children	2
Parents	Howard Koh Claudia Arrigg
Relatives	Harold Hongju Koh (uncle)
Education	Harvard University (BA, MBA)

Daniel Arrigg Koh (born January 1, 1985) is an American politician. Koh was Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. ^[3]

Career

Koh served as Chief of Staff to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Huffington Post editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington. Koh was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 and the Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40. ^[4]

Biden Administration

Koh joined the Biden Administration in 2021 as Chief of Staff to his former boss Marty Walsh, who became United States Secretary of Labor. ^[5]

Koh left the Department of Labor in August 2022 to become Special Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Cabinet Secretary. He also served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Political campaigns

2018 congressional campaign

Koh ran for Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district in 2018. Koh lost the Democratic primary to Lori Trahan. Koh received 18,435 votes and Trahan received 18,580 votes. ^[6]

Local government

In 2019, Koh was elected to the Board of Selectmen in Andover, Massachusetts. As the top vote getter, Koh received 2,733 votes ^[7] He resigned from the Board of Selectmen in February 2021 to join the Biden Administration. ^[8]

In 2021, Koh was seen as a potential candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in the 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial election. ^[9] Koh did not run and Kim Driscoll was ultimately elected lieutenant governor.

Electoral history

Massachusetts' 3rd congressional district Democratic primary, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lori Trahan	18,527	21.6
	Democratic	Daniel Koh	18,405	21.5
	Democratic	Barbara L'Italien	13,029	15.2
	Democratic	Juana Matias	12,982	15.1
	Democratic	Rufus Gifford	12,856	15.1
	Democratic	Alexandra Chandler	4,848	5.7
	Democratic	Beej Das	1,496	1.7
	Democratic	Jeffrey Ballinger	1,388	1.6
	Democratic	Bopha Malone	1,344	1.6
	Democratic	Leonard Golder	585	0.7
	Democratic	write-ins	131	0.2
Total votes			88,818	100.0

Personal life

Koh is the son of Howard Koh, former United States Assistant Secretary for Health, and Claudia Arrig, a doctor and the granddaughter of Lebanese emigrants who arrived in Lawrence, Massachusetts in the 1890s. ^[10] His uncle is Harold Hongju Koh, former Dean of Yale Law School and Legal Adviser of the Department of State.

Koh married Amy Jean Sennett at Boston City Hall on June 23, 2016 officiated by Marty Walsh. They had a religious ceremony on July 2. ^[2] They have two children, Theodora and Jack. ^[3]

Koh has struggled with ADHD. ^[11]

References

1. "Chief of staff hits a chord with Mayor Walsh - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe .
2. "Amy Sennett, Daniel Koh". The New York Times. 26 June 2016.
3. "Daniel Arrigg Koh | IGA". The White House. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
4. "Daniel Koh". Council Korean Americans (CKA). Retrieved 2023-08-20.
5. Tauscher, Teddy (2022-07-20). "Andover native Dan Koh to move to position in White House". Eagle-Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
6. "Trahan takes Dem nomination in third after district-wide recount". Boston Herald. 2018-09-17. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
7. "2019 Andover Local Election Results".
8. "Dan Koh Resigns From Andover Select Board To Join Biden Admin". Andover, MA Patch. 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
9. "Lucas: Never mind Marty Walsh, keep an eye on Dan Koh". Boston Herald. 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
10. Burnley, Malcolm (March 6, 2018). "Koh, What a Life". Boston Magazine . Retrieved November 27, 2024.
11. Matchan, Linda (2015-11-06). "ADHD Comes to City Hall: Boston Mayoral Aide Shares His Struggle with ADHD". ADDitude. Retrieved 2023-08-20.