Denis McDonough

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Famous WWII Pic Once More a 'Political Lightning Rod'

Memo said Eisenstaedt's V-J Day pic 'The Kiss' would be pulled from VA venues; VA chief says no

(Newser) - The Veterans Affairs secretary has reversed a department memo that aimed to ban VA displays of the iconic "V-J Day in Times Square" photograph of a Navy sailor kissing a woman he didn't know on the streets of New York at the end of World War II. Secretary...

Biden Giving Big Role to a Familiar Face

President-elect will bring in Susan Rice to guide domestic policy

(Newser) - Joe Biden is bringing a familiar ally back to the White House. Politico reports that he has picked Susan Rice to guide domestic policy. More formally, she will run the White House Domestic Policy Council and thus have a big say in everything from health care to immigration to programs...

Sorry, Hillary and Bernie: Obama Won't Endorse You

President will steer clear of 2016 race until a Democratic nominee is chosen

(Newser) - If you're waiting breathlessly for the current commander in chief to weigh in on who among the Democratic candidates should succeed him, well, don't hold your breath. President Obama won't be endorsing either his former secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, or Bernie Sanders, reports Reuters. "That'...

White House: We Did Not Threaten Foleys or Sotloffs

'We made clear what the law is,' when families weighed paying ransom

(Newser) - The White House hit back at allegations from the families of James Foley and Steven Sotloff that they were threatened with prosecution as they weighed whether to pay Islamic State militants ransom for their sons. "In terms of what was communicated to the families, in the midst of many,...

Adviser: Obama 'Madder Than Hell' Over VA Scandal

Denis McDonough says he's got the scars to prove it

(Newser) - White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough today summarized the commander-in-chief's feelings on the VA scandal pretty pointedly: "The president is madder than hell, and I’ve got the scars to prove it, given the briefings I’ve given the president. Nobody is more outraged about this problem,...

Brawl Over Syria an 'Uphill Slog,' 'Amateur Hour'

White House tries to make its case as GOP roars

(Newser) - It was all Syria, all the time on the Sunday talk circuit today, with White House chief of staff Denis McDonough hitting all five networks in making the administration's case for action. "The question is very simple for Congress this week... Not a single (member of Congress) rebuts...

Security Adviser Quits, Susan Rice Gets the Job

Tom Donilon resigns as national security adviser

(Newser) - National Security Adviser Tom Donilon will announce his resignation today, multiple outlets are reporting, and President Obama isn't exactly choosing a politically safe successor. Instead he'll tap Susan Rice , the US ambassador to the UN who's become a lightning rod thanks to the Benghazi controversy. The job...

Reports: Obama Settles on His New Chief of Staff

Denis McDonough expected to be named within days

(Newser) - President Obama's next chief of staff isn't exactly a household name, but he's long been a trusted adviser to the president: Politico and the New York Times say Obama will name Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough to replace Jack Lew.
  • The Times describes him as an
...

Pleas, Protests as Islam Hearings Loom

Security official blasts stigmas ahead of domestic radicalization hearings

(Newser) - The White House is calling on Americans not to stigmatize all followers of Islam, as Congress readies hearings on al-Qaeda’s attempts to radicalize US Muslims. In the US, "we don’t practice guilt by association," a top national security official said yesterday in what Politico calls a...

Obama Picks His No. 2 Security Chief
Obama Picks
His No. 2 Security Chief
Oct 22, 2010 11:26 AM CDT

Obama Picks His No. 2 Security Chief

Denis McDonough will be deputy national security adviser

(Newser) - President Obama today promoted one of his key national security aides, Denis McDonough, to be his No. 2 national security adviser. He will serve under the new national security adviser, Tom Donilon, who held the second-ranking job himself until recently being promoted earlier this month to succeed Gen. James Jones...

Obama Must Unleash Hillary
 Obama Must 
 Unleash 
 Hillary 
OPINION
Jul 16, 2010 12:40 PM CDT

Obama Must Unleash Hillary

Campaign feud gets in the way of foreign policy

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton visited Armenia last week, trying to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh disagreement and resolve the country's dispute with Turkey over the massacres of 1915. “You’ve got to salute Hillary,” writes Roger Cohen of the New York Times . “It’s a heck of a job being secretary...

Obama Brings Pope Letter From Ailing Kennedy

President asks Benedict to pray for ill senator

(Newser) - President Obama delivered a letter from Ted Kennedy to Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican today, CNN reports. Obama met with the pontiff for about a half hour before leaving Rome for Ghana. The contents of Kennedy’s letter were personal, an Obama aide said, and “not known to...

Obama Relying on Own Mini State Dept.

Candidate draws on expertise of 300 policy advisers

(Newser) - As Barack Obama makes his first overseas visit as the presumptive Democratic nominee, the New York Times spotlights the 300-strong army of foreign policy advisers that keep the candidate abreast of world affairs. Obama's operation is run like a mini-State Department, the Times notes, with senior aides taking responsibility for...

Obama's Foreign Policy Would Be Radical Overhaul
Obama's Foreign Policy Would Be Radical Overhaul
ANALYSIS
Mar 25, 2008 3:03 PM CDT

Obama's Foreign Policy Would Be Radical Overhaul

Advisers talk up breaking from orthodoxy with 'dignity' doctrine

(Newser) - Barack Obama provides “the most sweeping liberal foreign-policy critique” from a presidential contender in decades, writes Spencer Ackerman in the American Prospect—focusing not on fear, but rather on what advisers call “dignity promotion.” Ackerman credits the candidate's brain trust with cutting through “Democratic timidity” to...

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