WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate key leadership for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; John Tien for Deputy Secretary, Jen Easterly for Director of Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, Ur Jaddou for Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Chris Magnus for Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Jonathan Meyer for General Counsel, and Robert Silvers for Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans.
John Tien, Nominee for Deputy Secretary
John Tien previously served in the Obama Administration as the National Security Council Senior Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2009-2011. Since 2011, Tien has been a Citigroup managing director. Prior to joining Citi, Tien was a combat arms officer for 24 years in the active duty U.S. Army and retired in 2011 as a Colonel. He is a veteran of three combat tours in Iraq to include being the Task Force 2-37 M1A1 Abrams Tank Battalion Commander in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2006-2007. His other military assignments include staff and leadership positions in Germany, California, Kansas, Kentucky, New York, and Texas. He served as a National Security Council Director for Iraq in the Bush Administration, and as a White House Fellow in the Office of the United States Trade Representative during the Clinton Administration. His military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Combat Action Badge, and the Valorous Unit Award. From 1986-1987, he was the first Asian American to ever serve as West Point’s First Captain and Brigade Commander, the United States Military Academy’s top ranked cadet position. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from West Point, an M.A. from Oxford University where he was also a Rhodes Scholar, and was a National Security Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He resides in Atlanta with his wife Tracy Tien, their two daughters, Amanda and Rebecca.