Michael C. Donilon (born December 25, 1958) is an American attorney and campaign consultant who is a longtime advisor to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

, the 46th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. He was the chief strategist of Biden's 2020 presidential campaign and served in the same capacity in the 2024 presidential campaign before Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, 2024. He was a senior advisor to Biden during the first three years of his presidency. Prior, Donilon was working as a partner at AKPD Message and Media. Between 2009 and 2013, he served as Counselor to Vice President Biden in the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

. Before his White House appointment, Donilon worked with the vice-presidential candidate to help him prepare for the debates and as a traveling advisor. Donilon has been an advisor and consultant to Biden since 1981. He has been described as Biden's "conscience, alter ego and shared brain" by the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''.

Early life and education

Donilon is a graduate of

La Salle Academy } La Salle Academy is an American private, Catholic all-boys' high school in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York. The school is run by the Eastern North American District of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and

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

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Career

Donilon has advised candidates and worked on their campaigns in numerous important races, including Douglas Wilder's historic campaign and election as Governor of Virginia (1989), Harris Wofford's upset victory over Dick Thornburgh to become Senator for the state of Pennsylvania, and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's successful run for the White House in 1992. Donilon has also worked on campaigns for Governor

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006, and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran f ...

(D-New Jersey), Senator

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...

(D-Florida), Senator Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), Senator

Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2007 as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1998 as the United States Att ...

(D-Rhode Island), Senator

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; February 24, 1942 – March 27, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Dem ...

(I-Connecticut), Representative

Dick Gephardt Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House majority lead ...

(D-Missouri), Senator

Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...

(D-Connecticut), Senator

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...

(D-North Carolina), Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

(D-Tennessee), Senator

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

(D-Massachusetts), and former Senator Mark Dayton (D-Minnesota). Donilon was a managing member of MCD Strategies, a media consulting firm, for which he received compensation of at least $4 million. Donilon served as managing director of the Biden Institute at the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy & Administration, where he was also an assistant professor.

Biden administration

As his longtime advisor, Mike Donilon held significant influence over Joe Biden's successful 2020 campaign for president. He helped develop Biden's campaign strategy that had a three-pronged message: "that the election was about the 'soul of the nation'; that the threatened middle class was the 'backbone of the nation'; and that what was most needed was to 'unify the nation.' Only Biden could restore the nation's soul, repair its backbone, and unify it." "This is really about character and values as opposed to issues and ideology," Donilon told the ''New York Times'' in his capacity as chief strategist. In November 2020, Donilon was named

Senior Advisor to the President Senior Advisor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States. Senior advisors to the president do not have formal government decision making authority, but they can have significant infl ...

. In July 2024 he helped draft the letter that Biden used to announce his withdrawal from the 2024 United States presidential election.

Personal life

Donilon's brothers are

BlackRock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...

Investment Institute chair Tom Donilon, who was chief of staff in former President

's State Department and is a former National security adviser to

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

,Profiles
"Catherine Russell: Why She Matters"
, "whorunsgov.com".Vogel, Kenneth

"Politico", June 15, 2009. and Terry Donilon, Communications Director for the Archdiocese of Boston. His sister-in-law is Catherine M. Russell.

References

External links

*
Mike Donilon's profile
from the Biden-Harris Administration {{DEFAULTSORT:Donilon, Mike 1958 births Living people American people of Irish descent American political consultants Biden administration personnel Georgetown University Law Center alumni Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign Joe Biden 2024 presidential campaign La Salle Academy alumni Obama administration personnel People associated with the 2020 United States presidential election People associated with the 2024 United States presidential election Senior advisors to the president of the United States