Department of Homeland Security — Past Speakers

Jeh Johnson’s distinguished career has included both private corporate law practice and top-level public service for two Presidents.

In his public career, he has served in President Obama’s Cabinet as Secretary of Homeland Security, and in senior positions in the Department of Defense, the Air Force, and the US Attorney’s office. Johnson was drawn to public service by his belief in government as a source of good, by his faith in the character and people of the nation, and by his family’s strong history of community leadership.

In the private sector, Johnson is a trial lawyer who has tried some of the highest stakes commercial cases of recent decades. He is a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He is also a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.

“A straightforward, plain-speaking man of great integrity” - Robert Gates

President Barack Obama and Secretary Jeh Johnson

Johnson was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security by President Obama in 2013 and served through 2017. In this role, he led one of the largest and most complex agencies in the U.S. government with a workforce of over 200,000 employees and responsibilities including counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, border, aviation, port, and maritime security, the protection of national leaders and critical infrastructure, national response to disasters, and the detection of chemical, biological and nuclear threats to the United States.

Johnson speaks at his Alma Mater, Morehouse College

He is credited with management reform of the Department which brought a centralized approach to decision making, and for raising employee morale across the agency. During his tenure Johnson oversaw the DHS response to such challenges as the Ebola crisis in West Africa; the huge influx of immigrants and asylum seekers from Central America; and the Obama Administration's executive actions affecting undocumented individuals living in the U.S.

When Johnson testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security in 2014, he did so in the same room on Capitol Hill where his grandfather was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1949. Accused of being a member of the Communist party, the prominent black sociologist Dr. Charles Johnson told Congress “wanting the elimination of inequalities and racial discrimination is not wanting to subvert the government.”

Prior to his appointment to the DHS, Johnson served as General Counsel of the Department of Defense from 2009 to 2012, where he was the legal architect for the military’s counterterrorism efforts in the Obama Administration and was responsible for the legal approval for every military operation authorized by the President and the Secretary of Defense. He was also heavily involved in the reform of military commissions, and shaped the administration’s polices on the detention of terrorism suspects.

In 2010, he co-authored a 250-page report that paved the way for the repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law which had prevented members of the LGBT+ community from serving openly in the military. In 2012, he delivered an internationally acclaimed address at the Oxford Union, entitled “How Will the War Against al Qaeda End?”, in which he looked ahead to a moment when the terrorist organization was so diminished that the United States could relax its military posture.

Johnson speaking at the Islamic Society of North America convention in Chicago in September 2016

Johnson began his public career as the Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted public corruption cases. He tried 12 cases and argued 11 appeals in three years. President Clinton appointed Johnson to be General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force in 1998, where his tenure coincided with Operation Allied Force, NATO’s air strikes during the Kosovo War. He was awarded the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service for his efforts, one of three medals awarded to him by the Department of Defense.

In private practice, Johnson is a partner in the Litigation Department of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, having become the firm’s first African American partner in 1994. Johnson previously chaired the Judiciary Committee of the New York City Bar Association, which rates and approves federal, state, and local judges in New York City. In 2020, New York State’s Chief Judge appointed Johnson to assess equal justice in the state court system; Johnson issued a 100-page public report on the issue, with the Chief Judge adopting all of his proposed changes.

Johnson received his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College, and his law degree from Columbia Law School. He has received eleven honorary degrees.

He is a member of the board of directors of Lockheed Martin and U.S. Steel, a trustee of Columbia University, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Law Institute.

Johnson is a regular commentator on national issues on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS, FOX, and numerous other outlets. His op-eds have been published in op-eds the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Hill. Since leaving government, he has also been called to testify before Congress five times on the subjects of cybersecurity, homeland security and national security

TCG is thrilled to have been able to show Johnson’s terrific campaign bumper sticker collection on our Zooms. We’re hoping to catch a glimpse of his extensive train set collection.

Johnson, John Kerry, and TCG’s Patricia Duff at The Common Good Forum 2017

Johnson participated at The Common Good Forum 2017 on May 12, 2017, speaking on “Homeland Security in the Trump Years”. He also spoke alongside Representative Adam Schiff in The Russia Investigation with Congressman Adam Schiff and Secretary Jeh Johnson, and moderated a conversation at The Common Good with Michael Morell in 2018: Special Discussion with Michael Morell - March 1, 2018.

On September 16, 2020 Secretary Jeh Johnson participated in “Longest War - How Do We End It? Chris Kolenda and Johnson discuss the impact of the war, how it can be ended, and recent events with our military that have made headlines.

Johnson currently serves as a member ofThe Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

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