BornJanuary 8, 1949 - Chicago, Illinois
AliasesJohn David Podesta
Service1988-present (federal government and advisory roles)
ClearanceTS/SCI (former, White House Chief of Staff level)
Summary
John Podesta is one of Washington's most senior political operators - Clinton's Chief of Staff, Obama's counselor, and a two-time presidential campaign chairman - who has been a consistent and unusually prominent government advocate for UAP disclosure. His February 2015 tweet stating that his 'biggest failure of 2014' was not securing UAP file disclosure, written as he left the Obama White House, became one of the most widely cited mainstream political acknowledgments of the UAP issue. Podesta has written forewords, signed coalition letters, and maintained engagement with disclosure advocates across multiple administrations.
Roles
- -Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton (1998-2001)
- -Counselor to President Barack Obama (2014-2015)
- -Chairman, Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign (2016)
- -Founder and Chairman, Center for American Progress (2003-present)
- -Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (2022-2024)
Organizations
White House (Clinton Administration)White House (Obama Administration)Center for American ProgressHillary for AmericaCoalition for Freedom of Information
Education
- -B.S. Economics, Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, 1971
- -J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C., 1976
Early Career
- -Worked as a trial attorney and Senate Judiciary Committee staffer in the late 1970s
- -Served as Chief Counsel to the Senate Agriculture Committee in the early 1980s
- -Co-founded the Podesta Group lobbying firm with his brother Tony Podesta in 1988
- -Served as Staff Secretary and Deputy Chief of Staff under President Clinton before becoming Chief of Staff in 1998