Kenneth L. Wainstein Explained

Ken Wainstein
Office:Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis
President:Joe Biden
Term Start:June 13, 2022
Predecessor:David Glawe
Office1:4th United States Homeland Security Advisor
President1:George W. Bush
Term Start1:March 30, 2008
Term End1:January 20, 2009
Predecessor1:Frances Townsend
Successor1:John O. Brennan
Office2:United States Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division
President2:George W. Bush
Term Start2:September 28, 2006
Term End2:March 30, 2008
Predecessor2:Position established
Successor2:Patrick Rowan
Office3:United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
President3:George W. Bush
Term Start3:May 2004
Term End3:September 28, 2006
Predecessor3:Roscoe Howard
Successor3:Ronald Machen
Birth Name:Kenneth Leonard Wainstein
Education:University of Virginia (BA)
University of California, Berkeley (JD)

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]

Education

Wainstein is a graduate of the University of Virginia and earned his J.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.[1]

Career

Wainstein worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as General Counsel and as Chief of Staff to the FBI Director.[1] He was 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 that asserted 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 19 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. He was sworn in on June 13, 2022.[11]

See also

External links

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Notes and References

  1. News: 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. 2009-03-17.
  2. Web site: Statement by DNI Haines on the Confirmation of Kenneth L. Wainstein to Lead the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis . 2022-06-10 . www.dni.gov.
  3. "Kenneth L. Wainstein, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security."
  4. Web site: Official Bio. October 25, 2011.
  5. Web site: National Security Presidential Directive. October 25, 2011.
  6. Web site: Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense. www.biodefensestudy.org. 2017-03-31.
  7. Web site: Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden . 20 August 2020 . Defending Democracy Together . 26 August 2021.
  8. News: Hamburger . Tom . Barrett . Devlin . Former U.S. attorneys — all Republicans — back Biden, saying Trump threatens 'the rule of law' . 27 October 2020 . Washington Post . October 27, 2020.
  9. Web site: Hearings Intelligence Committee . 2022-06-10 . www.intelligence.senate.gov . en.
  10. Web site: 2022-02-03 . 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 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220201132004/https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/nominations-of-william-j-valdez-to-be-under-secretary-for-management-us-department-of-homeland-security-dimitri-kusnezov-to-be-under-secretary-for-science-and-technology-us-department-of-homeland-security-and-the-honorable-kenneth-l-wainstein-to-be-under-secretary-for-intelligence_analysis-us-department-of-homeland-security . 2022-02-01 . 2022-06-10 . . en.
  11. DHSgov . United States Department of Homeland Security . 1536469537176145928 . Today @SecMayorkas swore in Kenneth L. Wainstein, our new Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis . 2022-06-17.