Jessica Lewis started her tenure as Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs in October 2021. Under her leadership, the Bureau has provided over $46 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, dramatically increased grant assistance to transition countries off Russian defense equipment and provided de-mining assistance to Ukraine. In the Indo-Pacific, the PM bureau has implemented new security assistance to Taiwan, with the first provision of grant funding for Taiwan, as well as authorizing billions in foreign military sales. Assistant Secretary Lewis’ team has also strengthened U.S. security relationships in the Indo-Pacific and around the world by negotiating a record number of security cooperation agreements, including in Europe and the Pacific Islands.

Assistant Secretary Lewis also leads the effort to provide seamless defense trade with Australia and UK in the AUKUS agreements through her team’s innovate use of available authorities while working with Congress to create a new statutory basis for AUKUS defense trade. She has led the Department’s efforts to improve the Foreign Military Sales process and is implementing the Department’s FMS 2023 plan.

Prior to her appointment to the State Department, Assistant Secretary Lewis spent nearly 20 years working on Capitol Hill where she served as the Democratic Staff Director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from fall 2016 to 2021. From 2007 to 2016, she was the Senior National Security Advisor and Foreign Policy Advisor to Senate Majority/Minority Leader Harry Reid.

Earlier, Assistant Secretary Lewis was the Democratic Staff Director for the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House International Relations Committee. She also worked at the Organization of American States leading education and training programs at Net Corps America.

Assistant Secretary Lewis taught third grade for four years, as well as graduate level classes for teachers at Johns Hopkins University.

Assistant Secretary Lewis received a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Master’s in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her undergraduate degree at Haverford College.

U.S. Department of State

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