USGLC

Brian McKeon is the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.

Mr. McKeon previously served in the Obama administration as deputy principal Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2014 to 2017 and as Chief Operations Officer turned- Executive Secretary of the National Security Council. McKeon is currently the executive director of the Penn Biden Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

On U.S. global leadership: In an article on preserving America’s ‘brand,’ McKeon and Mark Lagon wrote, “In the grand sweep of history, the United States has arguably been the most unselfish of nation-states in advancing global interests as well as its own.” (source)

On the International Affairs Budget: In a 2019 Foreign Affairs article McKeon wrote, “the appropriations subcommittees that cover foreign operations, which handle the State Department and foreign aid budgets, are islands of bipartisanship. They protect diplomatic resources and quietly advance worthwhile causes such as ending river blindness, promoting democracy, supporting girls’ education, and combating human trafficking. (source)

On the State Department: McKeon wrote of recent staffing and management trends in the State Department, “It will take years to regain the experience that has been lost among the diplomatic corps, but the foreign affairs committees can help arrest the decline.” (source)

On development finance: Describing Congress’s capacity to create powerful foreign policy legislation, McKeon praised Congress for passing legislation “to reauthorize and expand the mandate of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to fund infrastructure projects in developing countries, part of an effort to counter growing Chinese influence.” (source)

On multilateral institutions: Writing for Foreign Affairs on the 119^th Congress’s legislative priorities, McKeon suggested “Congress should take steps to safeguard the United States’ role in the international order. At the top of the list should be defending multilateral institutions.” (source)

On security cooperation: During McKeon’s 2015 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he said of Ukraine “cooperation over the past two decades has paid dividends, as Ukraine has been a steadfast coalition partner in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, and Bosnia, as well as in counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa.” (source)

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