Dr. Karen Donfried, the President of the Washington, DC-based think tank German Marshall Fund (GMF), has become the fourth think tank president to be nominated for a post in the Biden Administration.
On April 15, the White House announced its intention to nominate Donfried as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
Before assuming the presidency of GMF in April 2014, Donfried was the Special Assistant to the President and and Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC). Prior to that she served as the National Intelligence Officer for Europe on the National Intelligence Council (NIC).
Who are the other three think tank heads who received a Biden nomination? Heather Boushey, who was President and CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, is now a Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).
Bill Burns, who was President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is now Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Neera Tanden, President of the Center for American Progress (CAP), was tapped to be Biden's Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) but her nomination was later pulled.
Here is a list from Think Tank Watch of think tankers who are now in the Biden Administration. It also lists Trump Administration officials who have gone into think tank land.
