Lisa Monaco facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lisa Monaco
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Official portrait, 2023
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| 39th United States Deputy Attorney General | |
| In office April 21, 2021 – January 20, 2025 |
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Jeffrey A. Rosen |
| Succeeded by | Todd Blanche |
| 6th United States Homeland Security Advisor | |
| In office March 8, 2013 – January 20, 2017 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | John O. Brennan |
| Succeeded by | Tom Bossert |
| United States Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division | |
| In office July 1, 2011 – March 8, 2013 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | David S. Kris |
| Succeeded by | John P. Carlin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Lisa Oudens Monaco
February 25, 1968 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) University of Chicago (JD) |
Lisa Oudens Monaco, born on February 25, 1968, is an American lawyer. She held a very important job as the 39th Deputy Attorney General of the United States from 2021 to 2025. She is part of the Democratic Party.
Before this, Ms. Monaco was a key advisor to President Barack Obama on homeland security from 2013 to 2017. In this role, she helped the president with issues related to keeping the country safe from threats. She was also a member of the U.S. Homeland Security Council. Earlier, she worked in other important roles at the Department of Justice, focusing on national security.
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Early Life and Education
Lisa Monaco was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. Her family has Italian-American roots. She finished high school at the Winsor School in Boston in 1986.
College Years
Ms. Monaco went to Harvard University. She graduated in 1990 with high honors. Her studies focused on American history and literature. After college, she worked as a researcher for a magazine called The Wilson Quarterly. She also worked for a healthcare advisory group.
Law School and Early Career
From 1992 to 1994, she worked for the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. There, she helped with the Violence Against Women Act. This law helps protect women from violence.
Ms. Monaco then went to the University of Chicago Law School. While studying law, she interned at the White House Counsel's Office in 1996. She earned her law degree in 1997. She also interned at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice. She was the editor-in-chief of a legal journal at her university. After law school, she worked as a law clerk for a judge. Then, she became a counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno until 2001.
Legal Career
Working as a U.S. Attorney
From 2001 to 2007, Lisa Monaco worked as an assistant U.S. attorney. She was part of a special team that investigated the Enron case. This was a big case involving a company that committed fraud. For her work, she received several awards from the Department of Justice. She even received the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service, which is the highest award given by the department.
After the Enron trial, Ms. Monaco became a special advisor to FBI Director Robert Mueller. She later became his chief of staff until 2009.
Focus on National Security
In 2009, Ms. Monaco started working on national security issues for the Department of Justice. She became the top aide to the Deputy Attorney General.
On July 1, 2011, President Barack Obama appointed her as the Assistant Attorney General for National Security. In this role, she led the division that handles major cases related to terrorism and spying. She also approved the use of FISA warrants, which are special permissions for surveillance. She worked on cases like a plot by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to harm the Saudi Ambassador. She also made fighting cyber threats a top priority. She created a network of prosecutors who specialize in national security cyber issues.
Homeland Security Advisor (2013–2017)
On January 25, 2013, President Obama announced that Lisa Monaco would become his Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. This meant she would be the President's main advisor on how to protect the country from threats. She took office on March 8, 2013.
Protecting the Nation
In this role, Ms. Monaco helped create U.S. policies to stop terrorist threats. This included working to weaken groups like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. She also worked to help other countries prevent terrorist threats. She led efforts to work with private companies to fight against harmful online messages from terrorist groups.
She also led a big effort to improve how the U.S. government handles hostage situations. This helped to better coordinate government efforts and support families affected by these situations.
Cybersecurity Efforts
As Homeland Security Advisor, Ms. Monaco was also President Obama's main advisor on cybersecurity. She helped create the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center in 2015. This center helps gather and analyze information about cyber threats from other countries.
She also helped develop the Cybersecurity National Action Plan in 2016. This plan guided the U.S. government's actions on cybersecurity. It aimed to create a long-term strategy for cybersecurity across the country. In July 2016, she spoke about the Obama administration's cyber policy. She announced a new plan for how the government would respond to major cyber incidents.
Public Health Preparedness
During her time as Homeland Security Advisor, Ms. Monaco also managed the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak. She helped coordinate government efforts to prevent the virus from spreading in the United States. In January 2017, she led an exercise for government leaders. They shared lessons learned from past crises and discussed how to prepare for future ones.
Private Career After Obama Administration
In 2017, Lisa Monaco joined CNN as a national security analyst. In 2019, she became a partner at the law firm O'Melveny & Myers. There, she helped lead the firm's group focused on data security and privacy. She advised important clients like ExxonMobil and Apple Inc.. She also taught at NYU Law School and was a Fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School.
In 2018, Ms. Monaco wrote an article with public health expert Vin Gupta. The article was titled "The Next Pandemic Will Be Arriving Shortly." In it, they urged the U.S. government to get ready for a possible future pandemic.
Deputy Attorney General (2021–2025)
Nomination and Confirmation
In April 2020, it was announced that Ms. Monaco would help with choosing Joe Biden's running mate for the 2020 presidential election. After Biden won the election, she was considered for several important roles in his administration.
On January 6, 2021, Lisa Monaco was nominated to be the Deputy Attorney General. This is the second most powerful position in the Department of Justice. Many people supported her nomination. She was confirmed by the Senate on April 20, 2021, and sworn in the next day.
Key Actions as Deputy Attorney General
As Deputy Attorney General, Ms. Monaco sent an investigation into the Trump administration's actions regarding Apple Inc. to the Office of the Inspector General. She was also tasked by Attorney General Merrick Garland with finding any potentially problematic issues that needed high-level review.
In 2023, Ms. Monaco announced new rules for certain business deals. These rules encourage companies to report any wrongdoing they find when they buy other businesses. This policy aims to make businesses more open about problems they discover.
Focusing on Cybersecurity
In 2021, Ms. Monaco stated that cybersecurity, including fighting ransomware and other cybercrime, would be a top priority for the Department of Justice. In an article for CNBC in October 2021, she encouraged Congress to pass laws that would make it standard to report cyber breaches.
In a 2023 interview, Ms. Monaco said that stopping hackers was key to fighting ransomware attacks. At a security conference in 2023, she highlighted the government's success in stopping about $130 million in ransomware payments to a major ransomware network.
Images for kids
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Monaco is sworn in as assistant attorney general for national security by Justice Elena Kagan in 2011.
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Monaco announces information related to charges for the 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot.
