Tom Bossert
7th United States Homeland Security Advisor
In office
January 20, 2017 – April 10, 2018
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byLisa Monaco
Succeeded byRob Joyce (Acting)
Personal details
Born (1975-03-25) March 25, 1975 (age 49)
Quakertown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Pittsburgh (BA)
George Washington University
(JD)

Thomas P. Bossert (born March 25, 1975)[1] is an American lawyer and former Homeland Security Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump.[2] He is an ABC News Homeland Security analyst.[3]

Immediately before, he was a fellow at the Atlantic Council and prior to that he served as Deputy Homeland Security Advisor to President George W. Bush. In that capacity, he co-authored the 2007 National Strategy for Homeland Security. Prior to that, Bossert held positions in the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the Independent Counsel, and the House of Representatives.[4] He also was appointed as the Director of Infrastructure Protection under Bush, overseeing the security of critical U.S. infrastructure, a post he held for two years.[5]

Bossert was appointed the Senior Director for Preparedness Policy within the Executive Office of the President.[6]

Early life

Bossert was born and raised in Quakertown, Pennsylvania,[7] where he graduated from Quakertown Community High School in 1993.[8] He attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics in 1997, and attended George Washington University Law School, earning his Juris Doctor in 2003.

Political career

Bossert with Gen. Joseph Lengyel (left) and Rear Adm. Jeff Hughes (right) in 2017

Following the end of the Bush administration, Bossert was made a Nonresident Zurich Cyber Risk Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Cyber Security Initiative, a position he held until 2016. He also became president of the risk management consulting firm Civil Defense Solutions.[9]

On December 27, 2016, the Trump transition team announced that then President-elect Donald Trump intended to appoint Bossert to the post of Homeland Security Advisor (officially titled the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism), a position that would not require Senate confirmation. Bossert was officially appointed on January 20, 2017, the date of President Trump's entrance into office.[5]

On July 20, 2017, Bossert called for a comprehensive bio-defense strategy against devastating pandemics and intentional attacks, and commented that retired Admiral Tim Ziemer was contributing to the development of the strategy.[10]

On July 27, 2017, British email prankster James Linton, spear-phished Bossert into thinking he was Jared Kushner by sending an email to Bossert; he received Bossert's private email address without asking for it.[11]

Bossert resigned on April 8, 2018, the day after John R. Bolton, the newly appointed National Security Advisor, started his tenure.[12] Bossert's departure corresponded with the dissolution of the global health security team that he oversaw.[13]

On December 16, 2020, the New York Times published an opinion piece by Bossert warning that U.S. networks had been seriously compromised by Russia and had been for months.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ Nicholas, Peter; Schwartz, Felicia (December 27, 2016). "Donald Trump Names Thomas Bossert Chief Adviser on Cybersecurity and Elevates Role As an assistant to the president, he will have 'independent status'". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  2. ^ Landler, Mark (April 10, 2018). "Thomas Bossert, Trump's Chief Adviser on Homeland Security, Is Forced Out". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 11, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  3. ^ Lippman, Daniel (February 20, 2020). "Trump to tap Florida official as homeland security adviser". Politico. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020. Bossert ... is now an ABC News homeland security analyst.
  4. ^ Wagner, John (December 27, 2016). "Trump names Bush administration veteran Thomas Bossert to White House homeland security post". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Geller, Eric (December 27, 2016). "Trump picks Tom Bossert as homeland security advisor". Politico. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  6. ^ Benscoter, Jana (December 27, 2016). "University of Pittsburgh grad appointed to assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism". Fox 43. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  7. ^ "Mr. Thomas Bossert". Cyber Week 2017. Tel Aviv University. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  8. ^ "Quakertown Graduate Appointed to Trump Cabinet". Upper Bucks Free Press. Vol. 8, no. 1. Quakertown, Pennsylvania: The Free Press LLC. January 2017. p. 6. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  9. ^ "Tom Bossert". atlanticcouncil.org. Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  10. ^ Landay, Jonathan (July 20, 2017). "White House developing comprehensive biosecurity strategy: official". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Tapper, Jake. "White House officials tricked by email prankster". CNN. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  12. ^ Calia, Michael. "Trump's top homeland security advisor Tom Bossert to resign". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  13. ^ Sun, Lena H. (May 10, 2018). "Top White House official in charge of pandemic response exits abruptly". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 1, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  14. ^ Bossert, Thomas P. (December 16, 2020). "I Was the Homeland Security Adviser to Trump. We're Being Hacked". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.

Further reading

External links

Political offices Preceded byLisa Monaco United States Homeland Security Advisor 2017–2018 Succeeded byRob JoyceActing
United States Homeland Security Advisors
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