Lisa O. Monaco took office as the Deputy Attorney General of the United States on April 22, 2021. She served as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism between 2013 and 2017. She also chaired the Cabinet-level Homeland Security Principals’ Committee which advised President Obama on homeland security policy issues and crises. She was co-chair of the Aspen Cyber Strategy Group and a non-resident senior fellow with the Harvard University Belfer Center’s Homeland Security Project. Prior to her service in the White House, Monaco spent 15 years at the Department of Justice, where she served both as a career federal prosecutor and in senior management positions at the Department and the FBI. She was Counsel to, and then Chief of Staff at, the FBI. In 2011, Monaco was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as Assistant Attorney General for National Security. A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School, Monaco began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Jane R. Roth on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is a recipient of the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, the Justice Department’s highest award, for her work on the Enron Task Force, as well as the Edmund J. Randolph Award, which is awarded by the Attorney General in recognition of outstanding contributions to the accomplishment of the mission of the Department of Justice.
All of us at the Commission are in shock and are heartbroken at news that Senator Lieberman has died suddenly and unexpectedly. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Hadassah, their children, and extended family.
We all were the beneficiaries of Joe’s many years of selfless public service, his kindness, and civility. Joe was the definition of a Mensch – a person of great integrity and honor. He always put others first and always worked to better our nation, to which he tirelessly devoted so much of his energy. He had an indefatigable spirit that always pushed our work forward.
For nearly ten years, Joe was my co-chair here at the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense. He cared deeply about the mission, for sure. Even more, he cared about each of our fellow Commissioners and the staff, all of whom I know are personally grieving at this tremendous loss. May his memory be a blessing.
Tom Ridge
March 27, 2024