President Biden Taps Minnesotans for the White House

Not all that very long in the past, Jake Sullivan was creating a rather wonderful minor Twin Cities story for himself. After graduating from Southwest Higher University in Minneapolis, he still left for college and legislation college at Yale with some postgraduate do the job at Oxford in between—natch! From there he did some clerking, together with inevitably for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. And as impressive as clerking for a Supreme Court justice is, as in quite a few a Minnesota story, Sullivan was drawn again to the frozen tundra and landed at Minneapolis legislation agency Faegre and Benson. His eventual facet gig was conversing torts at St. Thomas University of Regulation. What far more could a Laker want? 

A ton, it turns out. Sullivan achieved Amy Klobuchar, then a Senate prospect from Minnesota, and following doing the job on her initially marketing campaign, still left his budding Minneapolis legal occupation for D.C. as the senator’s chief counsel. From there he parlayed a stint doing the job for Senator Hillary Clinton on her initially presidential bid into becoming a top rated aide when she assumed the part of secretary of point out for the Obama administration. Sullivan finally finished up as the top rated nationwide safety aide for the then vice president Joe Biden and was instrumental in the brokering of the Iran nuclear offer. 

Fast-ahead through an administration, and Sullivan, who barely a dozen a long time in the past was doing the job towards spouse at Faegre and Benson, is again in the West Wing for his most significant part but: nationwide safety adviser for the Biden administration. And he’s not on your own. Sullivan is joined by an additional alum of equally the Obama administration and Minnesota. Stillwater native Denis McDonough was President Barack Obama’s final chief of workers and is tabbed to be President Biden’s secretary of Veterans Affairs.  

And though McDonough under no circumstances went to Oxford or clerked for a Supreme Court justice, he does have a single feather in his cap that Sullivan could only dream of: In the early ’90s, he was the starting up safety for the Saint John’s College Johnnies football team. Yep, he’ll see Sullivan’s Justice Breyer clerkship and raise him actively playing for the most achieved coach in college football heritage, John Gagliardi.

Drew Wood

Drew Wooden

Our deputy editor and generalist extraordinaire has been all around the block with stints at Thrillist, Metro, and Minnesota Business to name a number of. He lives in Tangletown with his spouse and youngsters, and would nearly generally somewhat be carrying a baseball cap.

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January 28, 2021

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