Caroline D. Krass

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Caroline D. Krass
General Counsel of the Department of Defense
Assumed office
August 2, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byPaul C. Ney Jr.
General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency
In office
March 13, 2014 – May 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byRobert Eatinger (acting)
Stephen W. Preston.
Succeeded byCourtney Simmons Elwood
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel
Acting
In office
January 2011 – September 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJonathan Cedarbaum
Succeeded byVirginia A. Seitz
Personal details
Born
Caroline Diane Krass

(1968-01-05) January 5, 1968 (age 56)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
SpouseWilliam Passmore
EducationStanford University (BA)
Yale University (JD)

Caroline Diane Krass (born January 5, 1968) is an American attorney and government official who currently serves as the General Counsel of the Department of Defense.[1]

Krass was a partner at the Washington office of the Los Angeles–based law firm Gibson Dunn (formerly Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher). She served as General Counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency from 2014 to 2017, and prior to that as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, and briefly as the Acting Assistant Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice. She has also been a lawyer in the State Department, the Treasury Department, United States National Security Council, and the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Early life and education[edit]

Krass was born in Santa Barbara, California. She received her B.A. from Stanford University in 1989, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She went on to study at Yale Law School, serving as an editor of the Yale Law Journal and receiving her J.D. in 1993.

Career[edit]

Krass clerked for Judge Patricia Wald on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1993 to 1994. She then served as an attorney-advisor at the Office of the Legal Adviser of the Department of State from 1994 to 1996. She subsequently served various roles as a lawyer in the Department of the Treasury, the National Security Council, and the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice. She also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 2007 to 2009, as well as a Special Advisor to the President of the United States on National Security Issues before becoming the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel.[2]

President Barack Obama nominated Krass to replace Robert Eatinger as the General Counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency. On March 13, 2014, after a heated confirmation debate, the Senate confirmed Krass in a 95–4 vote for the position.[3]

On May 8, 2017, Gibson Dunn announced that Krass had joined the firm's Washington, D.C. office as a partner.[4]

Krass joined insurance company AIG in 2018, serving as its Senior Vice President and General Counsel, General Insurance, and Deputy General Counsel, AIG.[5]

Nomination to Defense Department[edit]

President Joe Biden nominated Krass to the position of General Counsel of the Department of Defense on April 28, 2021.[1] The Senate's Armed Forces Committee held hearings on her nomination on June 16, 2021. Krass' nomination was favorably reported by the committee on June 22, 2021. The Senate confirmed the nomination by a voice vote on July 22, 2021.[6] She was sworn in on August 2, 2021.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "President Biden Announces Key Administration Nominations in National Security". The White House. April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  2. ^ "Caroline Krass". National Security Institute. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Josh Gerstein and Manu Raju (March 13, 2014). "Senate confirms new CIA lawyer". Politico. Retrieved December 13, 2019. Justice Department lawyer Caroline Krass handily won confirmation to the legal job in a 95-4 vote just moments after Majority Leader Harry Reid obtained unanimous consent for an immediate vote.
  4. ^ "Press Release: Former CIA General Counsel Caroline Krass Joins Gibson Dunn in Washington, D.C." gibsondunn.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "AIG Names Caroline Krass Senior Vice President and General Counsel, General Insurance, and Deputy General Counsel, AIG". www.businesswire.com. February 6, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "PN485 - Nomination of Caroline Diane Krass for Department of Defense, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. July 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "Caroline Krass". www.defense.gov. Retrieved September 26, 2021.

External links[edit]

Legal offices
Preceded by General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency
2014–2017
Succeeded by
Preceded by General Counsel of the Department of Defense
2021–present
Incumbent