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John Podesta

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John Podesta
Podesta in 2024
2ndUnited States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
Assumed office
March 6, 2024
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byJohn Kerry
Senior Advisor to the PresidentforClean Energy Innovation and Implementation
Assumed office
September 2, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
DeputyKristina Costa
Preceded byOffice established
Counselor to the President
In office
January 1, 2014 – February 13, 2015
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byPete Rouse
Succeeded byKellyanne Conway
20thWhite House Chief of Staff
In office
October 20, 1998 – January 20, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
DeputySteve Ricchetti
Maria Echaveste
Preceded byErskine Bowles
Succeeded byAndy Card
White House Deputy Chief of Staff
for Operations
In office
January 20, 1997 – October 20, 1998
PresidentBill Clinton
Chief of StaffErskine Bowles
Preceded byEvelyn Lieberman
Succeeded bySteve Ricchetti
White House Staff Secretary
In office
January 20, 1993 – June 30, 1995
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byPhillip Brady
Succeeded byTodd Stern
Personal details
Born
John David Podesta Jr.

(1949-01-08)January 8, 1949(age 75)
Chicago, Illinois,U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Mary Podesta
​
(m.1978)​
Children3
RelativesTony Podesta(brother)
EducationKnox College(BA)
Georgetown University(JD)

John David Podesta Jr.(born January 8, 1949) is an Americanpolitical consultantwho has been serving assenior advisor to the president for clean energy innovation and implementationsince September 2022. Podesta previously served asWhite House chief of stafftoPresidentBill Clintonfrom 1998 to 2001 andcounselorto PresidentBarack Obamafrom 2014 to 2015. Before that, he served in theClinton administrationasWhite House staff secretaryfrom 1993 to 1995 andWhite House deputy chief of stafffor operations from 1997 to 1998.

He is the former president, and now chair and counselor, of theCenter for American Progress(CAP), athink tankin Washington, D.C., as well as a visiting professor of law at theGeorgetown University Law Centerand was chairman ofHillary Clinton’s2016 presidential campaign.[1]Additionally, he was a co-chairman of theObama-Biden transition team.[2][3][4]

In his current role as senior advisor to President Biden, Podesta oversees the disbursement of $370–783 billion in clean energy tax credits and incentives authorized by theInflation Reduction Act of 2022.[5][6]

On January 31, 2024, it was announced that Podesta will succeedJohn Kerryastop U.S. climate diplomat.[7]

Early life

Podesta spent most of his early years in Chicago, where he was born, growing up in the neighborhood ofJefferson Parkon the city'sNorthwest Side.[8]His mother, Mary (née Kokoris), wasGreek-American,and his father, John David Podesta Sr., wasItalian-American.[9]Tony Podesta,a lobbyist, is his brother.[10][11]Podesta's father did not graduate from high school, but encouraged his children to attend college.[12]

In 1967, Podesta graduated fromLane Tech High Schoolin Chicago. Podesta met Bill Clinton in 1970 when they worked in Connecticut forJoseph Duffey,a candidate for the United States Senate.[13]In 1971, he graduated fromKnox CollegeinGalesburg, Illinois,where he had served as a volunteer for the presidential candidacy ofEugene McCarthy.[12]He received hisJ.D.fromGeorgetown University Law Centerin 1976.[14]

Podesta worked as a trial attorney for theDepartment of Justice's Honors Program in the Land and Natural Resources Division (1976–77), and as a Special Assistant to the Director ofACTION,the Federal volunteer agency (1978–79). His political career began in1972,when he worked forGeorge McGovern's unsuccessfulpresidential campaign.[15]

Career

Podesta held positions onCapitol Hill,including Counselor to Democratic Leader SenatorThomas Daschle(1995–96); Chief Counsel for the Senate Agriculture Committee (1987–88); Chief Minority Counsel for theUnited States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks;Security and Terrorism; and Regulatory Reform; and Counsel on the Majority Staff of theSenate Judiciary Committee(1979–81). In 1988, he and his brother Tony co-foundedPodesta Associates, Inc.,a Washington, D.C., "government relations and public affairs"lobbyingfirm. Now known as thePodesta Group,the firm "has close ties to theDemocratic Partyand theObama administration[and] has been retained by some of the biggest corporations in the country, includingWal-Mart,BPandLockheed Martin."[16]

Clinton administration

Podesta in 1993

Podesta served as both an assistant to the president and asdeputy chief of staff.Earlier, from January 1993 to 1995, he was assistant to the president,staff secretaryand a senior policy adviser on government information, privacy, telecommunications security and regulatory policy. Podesta was the first White House staffer to get the news of theLewinsky scandaland was put in charge of managing the crisis.[17]In 1998, he became President Clinton's chief of staff in the secondClinton administrationand served in the position until the end of Clinton's time in office in January 2001. Podesta encouragedExecutive Order 12958,which led to efforts to declassify millions of pages from the U.S. diplomatic and national security history.[18]

Post-Clinton administration

Three older, white men in suits and ties stand on a stone balcony, with trees and brick buildings behind them.
Podesta meeting withBill ClintonandGeorgetown UniversitypresidentJohn J. DeGioiain 2006.

In 2003, Podesta founded theCenter for American Progress,aliberalthink tankin Washington, D.C., and served as its president and CEO until he stepped down in 2011. (CAP chief operating officerNeera Tandensucceeded Podesta as president and CEO, taking over day-to-day operations.)[19][20]Podesta remained chairman of the nonexecutive board of directors for a time,[20][21]and remains on the board as of August 2020, although not as chairman.[22]

Podesta has taught at his alma mater,Georgetown University Law Center,many times over the years,[23]teaching classes oncongressionalinvestigations, law and technology, legislation, copyright and public-interest law.[23][24]On the Georgetown faculty, Podesta's title is Distinguished Visitor from Practice.[24]

From 2002 to 2014, Podesta served as a member of theConstitution Project's bipartisan Liberty and Security Committee.[25]In 2008, he authoredThe Power of Progress: How America's Progressives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate, and Our Country.In 2009, he accompanied Bill Clinton toNorth Koreafor negotiations securing the release oftwo American journalists imprisonedonespionagecharges. He can be seen in numerous widely circulated photographs of Clinton meeting withKim Jong-il.[26]

Podesta opposes the excessive use ofclassification,and in a 2004 speech atPrinceton Universitycondemned what he called the U.S.'s "excessive government secrecy" and "bloated secrecy bureaucracy".[27]

President Obama holds a meeting with John Podesta andSusan RiceaboardAir Force One,2015

Podesta has calledExecutive Order 12958,"which set tough standards for classifying documents and led to the unprecedented effort to declassify millions of pages from our nation's diplomatic and national security history," as "perhaps the biggest accomplishment of the Clinton administration."[27]More than 800 million pages of intelligence documents were declassified as part of the program.[28]

Podesta is described as "a longtime advocate for governmentdisclosureofUFOfiles. "[29]Podesta has supported petitions by some who believe UFOs are alien spacecraft to the government to release files related to the subject. At a 2002 news conference organized byCoalition for Freedom of InformationPodesta stated that, "It is time for the government to declassify records that are more than 25 years old and to provide scientists with data that will assist in determining the real nature of this phenomenon."[30]

Podesta wrote the foreword for a book byLeslie Keantitled "UFOs- Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On The Record". The book details numerous contact events by these trained personnel.[31]

John Podesta testifies before theSenate Budget CommitteeTask Force on Government Performance.

Podesta became an honorary patron of theUniversity Philosophical Societyin March 2006. Podesta is an emeritus member of the Knox College Board of Trustees.[32]

Podesta has served on the board of directors ofBedford, Massachusetts–based energy companyJoule Unlimitedsince January 2011.[33][34]He has also served on the board of thePortland, Oregon-based Equilibrium Capital. In 2013, Podesta earned $90,000 as a consultant to theWest Chester, Pennsylvania-based HJW Foundation, a nonprofit group led by Swiss billionaireHansjörg Wyss.[33]He was the U.S. representative to the UN High-Level Panel on thePost-2015 Development Agenda.[35]

After the 2016 election, Podesta joinedThe Washington Postas a columnist.[36]Podesta also sits on the steering committee of theChina–United States Exchange Foundation.[37]

On September 2, 2022, PresidentJoe Bidenappointed Podesta assenior advisor to the presidentfor clean energy innovation and implementation.[38][39][40]In this role, Podesta will oversee the $370–783 billion climate investment authorized by theInflation Reduction Act of 2022,which was passed the previous month.[41][5][6]

Personal email leak

Main article:Podesta emails

On October 7, 2016,WikiLeaksstarted to publish thousands of emails reportedly retrieved from Podesta's privateGmailaccount, some of which contained controversial material regarding Clinton's positions or campaign strategy.[42]Podesta and the Clinton campaign did not confirm or deny the authenticity of the emails.[43][44]Experts investigating the leak, including a private security firm calledSecureworks,claimed that a Russian hacking group namedFancy Beargained access to Podesta's account throughphishing.[45]Podesta said that Russian intelligence officials attempting to influence the presidential election in favor ofDonald Trumpwere behind the leak.[42]

TheUnited States Intelligence Communityreleased a statement directly accusing Russian intelligence of involvement.[46][47][48][49]Vice PresidentJoe BidentoldNBC Newsthat the United States was "sending a message" to Russian PresidentVladimir Putinand that a wide-ranging "clandestine" cyber operation would take place in response to the Russians' activities.[citation needed]When asked about the leaks, Putin replied that claims of Russian involvement were false. "The hysteria is merely caused by the fact that somebody needs to divert the attention of the American people from the essence of what was exposed by the hackers."[50][51]

Personal life

John Podesta is Catholic and has worked withCatholics in Alliance for the Common GoodandCatholics United.[52][53]

He and his wife Mary Podesta, a Washington, D.C. attorney, married in 1978 and have three children.[54][55]His daughter, Megan Rouse, was the president of theDublin Unified School District(CA) Board of Trustees.[56][57]Podesta is an avid cook.[58]

See also

References

  1. ^Glueck, Katie; Devere, Edward-Isaac (January 13, 2015)."John Podesta to leave White House post in February".Politico.RetrievedJanuary 13,2015.
  2. ^Talev, Margaret (December 10, 2013)."Obama to Name Former Clinton Official Podesta as Special Adviser".BusinessWeek.RetrievedDecember 10,2013.
  3. ^Stein, Sam (October 8, 2008)."Obama, McCain Transition Efforts Are Worlds Apart".Huffington Post.RetrievedJuly 17,2011.
  4. ^"Washington Post".Who Runs Gov. Archived fromthe originalon July 17, 2011.RetrievedJuly 17,2011.
  5. ^abFriedman, Lisa (September 2, 2022)."Biden, remaking climate team, picks John Podesta to guide spending".The New York Times.RetrievedSeptember 5,2022.
  6. ^ab"Repealing Inflation Reduction Act's Energy Credits Would Raise $663 Billion, JCT Projects".Tax Foundation.June 7, 2023.RetrievedJune 25,2023.
  7. ^Joselow, Maxine (January 31, 2024)."John Podesta to succeed John Kerry as top U.S. climate diplomat".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.RetrievedJanuary 31,2024.
  8. ^Sweet, Lynn (November 6, 2008)."All-business Obama begins transition to White House".Chicago Sun-Times.Archived fromthe originalon December 10, 2008.
  9. ^Fusco, Chris (March 12, 2007)."Cooking, wit nourished D.C. Dem elite: Younger son was chief of staff to Bill Clinton".Chicago Sun-Times.
  10. ^Crispin, Jessa."Podesta: Progressive Politics Will Cure U.S. Ills".NPR.org.NPR.RetrievedJuly 17,2011.
  11. ^Pear, Robert; Broder, John M. (September 5, 2000)."In a Lobby-Happy Washington, Politics Can Be Even Thicker Than Blood".The New York Times.
  12. ^abBaker, Peter (February 15, 2015)."For Hillary Clinton, John Podesta Is a Right Hand With a Punch".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 16,2015.
  13. ^Clinton, Bill(2004).My Life.New York City:Alfred A. Knopf.p. 176.ISBN9780375414572.
  14. ^"Alumni Honored with Paul Dean Award".Georgetown Law School.October 18, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon October 21, 2017.RetrievedJuly 4,2017.
  15. ^Podesta, John. "During a guest appearance onWait Wait, Don't Tell Me,broadcast May 17, 2014 ".
  16. ^Elliott, Justin (January 28, 2011)"Who's doing Mubarak's bidding in Washington?"ArchivedJanuary 29, 2011, at theWayback Machine,salon; accessed February 16, 2015.
  17. ^Whipple, Chris (2017).The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency.New York City:Crown Publishing.pp. 209, 211.ISBN9780804138246.
  18. ^Kean, Leslie (February 20, 2015)."John Podesta: Pulling Back the Curtain on UFOs".Huffington Post.RetrievedDecember 10,2015.
  19. ^Lorber, Janie (October 25, 2011)."CAP Faces Challenges as Podesta Steps Back".Roll Call.
  20. ^abRogin, Josh (October 24, 2011)."John Podesta stepping down as head of CAP".Foreign Policy.
  21. ^Allen, Jonathan (December 12, 2013)."W.H., CAP to counter Podesta attacks".Politico.
  22. ^"CAP Board of Directors".Center for American Progress.RetrievedAugust 1,2020.
  23. ^abHarris, John F. (February 5, 2001)."Podesta to Teach at Georgetown".The Washington Post.
  24. ^abOur Faculty: John Podesta, Distinguished Visitor from Practice,Georgetown University Law Center, August 5, 2016.
  25. ^"The Liberty and Security Committee".Constitution Project.RetrievedAugust 6,2016.
  26. ^"Clinton in North Korea".The Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJuly 7,2016.
  27. ^abJohn Podesta 2004 Remarks at Princeton University,Center for American Progress, March 10, 2004.
  28. ^Shipman, Tim (November 30, 2008)."UFO enthusiasts call on Obama to release X-Files".The Daily Telegraph.London, UK.Archivedfrom the original on January 12, 2022.RetrievedDecember 23,2008.
  29. ^Speigel, Lee (March 3, 2016)."John Podesta: I've Convinced Hillary Clinton To Declassify UFO Files".Huffington Post.
  30. ^Norman, Tony (December 2, 2008)."Change is coming (but not for space aliens)".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.RetrievedDecember 23,2008.
  31. ^Kean, Leslie (2010) "UFOs- Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On The Record" Harmony Books/Random House.
  32. ^"Board of Trustees".Knox College.December 15, 1957.RetrievedJuly 27,2016.
  33. ^abLipton, Eric (December 12, 2013)."New Obama Adviser Brings Corporate Ties".The New York Times.
  34. ^Joule elects John Podesta to its Board of DirectorsArchivedAugust 19, 2016, at theWayback Machine,Joule Unlimited (accessed August 5, 2016).
  35. ^"UN Secretary-General appoints high-level panel on post-2015 development agenda".United Nations Development Programme. July 31, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon January 27, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 17,2014.
  36. ^Sterne, Peter (February 23, 2017)."John Podesta joins The Washington Post as contributing columnist".Politico.RetrievedFebruary 24,2017.
  37. ^"US-China 2022 - Steering Committee".China–United States Exchange Foundation.RetrievedSeptember 13,2022.
  38. ^"President Biden announces senior clean energy and climate team".whitehouse.gov.September 2, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on September 2, 2022.RetrievedSeptember 5,2022.
  39. ^Grandoni, Dino; Pager, Tyler (September 2, 2022)."Biden reshuffles top White House climate team".The Washington Post.RetrievedSeptember 5,2022.
  40. ^Colman, Zack; Thompson, Alex (September 2, 2022)."Climate chief Gina McCarthy leaving White House as John Podesta returns".Politico.RetrievedSeptember 5,2022.
  41. ^Bustillo, Ximena (September 3, 2022)."Biden has a $369 billion climate plan — and new advisers to get the program running".NPR.RetrievedSeptember 5,2022.
  42. ^abChozick, Amy (October 11, 2016)."John Podesta Says Russian Spies Hacked His Emails to Sway Election".The New York Times.RetrievedOctober 13,2016.
  43. ^Jensen, Elizabeth (October 19, 2016),"How Should NPR Report On Hacked WikiLeaks Emails?",NPR,retrievedNovember 1,2016
  44. ^CNS News (October 19, 2016),"Leaked emails show 'hostility' to Catholic Church, some say",Catholic News Service,archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2016,retrievedNovember 1,2016
  45. ^Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (October 20, 2016)."How Hackers Broke Into John Podesta and Colin Powell's Gmail Accounts".Motherboard (Vice).RetrievedAugust 5,2020.
  46. ^Sciutto, Jim; Gaouette, Nicole; Browne, Ryan (October 14, 2016)."US finds growing evidence Russia feeding emails to WikiLeaks".CNN.RetrievedOctober 13,2016.
  47. ^Greenwald, Glenn(October 11, 2016)."In the Democratic Echo Chamber, Inconvenient Truths Are Recast as Putin Plots".The Intercept.RetrievedOctober 20,2016.
  48. ^Chozick, Amy; Confessore, Nicholas; Michael, Barbaro (October 7, 2016)."Leaked Speech Excerpts Show a Hillary Clinton at Ease With Wall Street".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedOctober 16,2016.
  49. ^Dowling, Brian (October 15, 2016)."Report: CIA has Kremlin in cyber sights".Boston Herald.RetrievedOctober 15,2016.
  50. ^Healy, Patrick; Sanger, David E.;Haberman, Maggie(October 12, 2016)."Donald Trump Finds Improbable Ally in WikiLeaks".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedOctober 19,2016.
  51. ^"CIA Reportedly Preparing Major Cyber Assault against Russia in Wake of Hack Attacks".Fox News.October 15, 2016.RetrievedOctober 19,2016.
  52. ^Franck, Matthew J. (October 17, 2016)."John Podesta, Son of the Church".First Things.RetrievedOctober 19,2016.
  53. ^Lawton, Kim (October 8, 2004)."Catholic Voters".Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.WNET.RetrievedApril 3,2011.
  54. ^Endicott, William T. (2003).An Insider's Guide to Political Jobs in Washington.Hoboken, New Jersey:John Wiley & Sons.p.238.ISBN978-0-471-47362-6.podesta mary three children.
  55. ^Pace, Julie."Democratic wise man splits loyalties between Obama, Clinton".KSL.RetrievedNovember 6,2016.
  56. ^"Board of Trustees / Board of Trustees".dublin.k12.ca.us.Archived fromthe originalon November 7, 2017.RetrievedNovember 5,2017.
  57. ^Utsumi, Michael (October 26, 2016)."Dublin School Board Trustee Megan Rouse Responds to WikiLeaks Allegations".OneDublin.org.RetrievedNovember 5,2017.
  58. ^Bennett, Kate (October 2015)."The Podesta brothers are ready to cook for Hillary".Politico.RetrievedNovember 6,2016.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related toJohn Podesta.
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Political offices
Preceded by White House Staff Secretary
January 20, 1993 – June 30, 1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by White House Deputy Chief of Stafffor Operations
January 20, 1997 – October 20, 1998 		Succeeded by
Preceded by White House Chief of Staff
October 20, 1998 – January 20, 2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Counselor to the President
January 1, 2014 – February 13, 2015 		Vacant
Title next held by
Steve Bannon
as Senior Counselor and Chief Strategist to the President
Vacant
Title next held by
Kellyanne Conway
Vacant
Title next held by
Dina Powell
as Senior Counselor to the President for Economic Initiatives
Preceded by Senior Advisor to the Presidentfor Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation
September 2, 2022 – present
Served alongside:Mike Donilon,Anita Dunn,Gene Sperling,Neera Tanden,Mitch Landrieu,Julie Chávez Rodriguez,Keisha Lance Bottoms 		Incumbent
Non-profit organization positions
New office President of theCenter for American Progress
October 24, 2003 – November 1, 2011 		Succeeded by
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