Courtney Simmons Elwood (born June 6, 1968) is an American attorney who served as the general counsel of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA) in the

Trump administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

between 2017 and 2021.

Early life and education

Elwood was born in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

. She was a member of the first graduating class of

West Potomac High School West Potomac High School, formerly Groveton High School, is a public high school in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It was founded in 1985 and is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools district. History West Potomac High Sch ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

Career

Prior to assuming her post at the CIA, she was a partner with the firm

Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, PLLC (formerly Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, PLLC) is a prestigious American law firm based in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1993 by three former Harvard Law School classmates (’82), ...

. She joined this firm in 1996, after clerking for Chief Justice

William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney who served as the 16th chief justice of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2005, having previously been an associate justice from 1972 to 1986. ...

on the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

during the 1995 term and for Judge J. Michael Luttig on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...

. Elwood has served as an associate counsel to the president, deputy counsel to the vice president, and deputy chief of staff and counselor to the attorney general. In March 2017, she was announced as President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's nominee to become general counsel of the CIA. She was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

with a vote of 67–33 on June 6, 2017.

Personal life

On November 23, 1996, she married John Elwood, also a Yale-trained lawyer, in Alexandria, Virginia.

References

External links

Courtney Simmons at Kellogg Hansen Law
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elwood, Courtney Simmons 1968 births Living people Washington and Lee University alumni Yale Law School alumni 21st-century American lawyers First Trump administration personnel Women government officials Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Law clerks of J. Michael Luttig