Elizabeth Neumann has been one of the most prominent figures in the field of homeland security and counterterrorism for nearly two decades. She was part of the inaugural staff at the Department of Homeland Security, helping to form the department following the September 11, 2001, attacks. Her vast experience has earned her recognition as one of the leading experts in anti-terrorism policy.
In her career, Neumann developed a number of strategies against threats to include international and domestic terrorism. She worked extensively at DHS in identifying potential dangers and developing strategies for mitigating national security threats. Yet, even as she was committed to the defense of the country, Neumann decided to resign from her post at DHS when she felt the Trump administration was not doing enough to counter the growing threat of domestic terrorism, particularly from right-wing extremist groups.
Since then, Neumann has become one of the most outspoken critics of the Trump administration’s handling of homegrown extremism. She spoke about the “growing threat” posed by right-wing extremist groups and the failure of the administration to take such threats seriously. Neumann has called for more comprehensive and proactive action to take on domestic terrorism, as threats continue to grow in the United States, in interviews and statements to the press.
Her departure from DHS, accompanied by post departure critiques of the administration, spoke volumes about how deeply invested she was in the matters of national security and how concerned she was to confront all types of terrorism. Neumann brings years of counterterrorism policy experience to the discussion about how to protect the nation from emerging perils.
Personal Life
Elizabeth Neumann is an American former homeland security official. In the Trump administration she served from February 2017 to April 2020 as a senior advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Department of Homeland Security to DHS Secretary John Kelly and Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke, and as DHS Assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention and Security Policy to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan, and Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf.
Neumann has described herself as “first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ,” and her 2016 decision to vote for Trump as “primarily because of the pro-life issue. She is married and has two children.
Elizabeth Neumann’s Career
Elizabeth Neumann graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in government studies. She has since been working for the U.S. government in different capacities.
She started her career in 2001 managing President Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which involved working with the Departments of Education and Housing Development.
Like a lot of government officials, Neumann is private about her personal life. She reportedly resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband two children. But she has also lived in Denver, Seattle, and Dallas.
Elizabeth Neumann’s Homeland Security Career
From 2003 to 2005, Neumann was working at the White House during the Bush administration as associate director of the Domestic Counterterrorism Directorate and also served as an executive assistant to the Homeland Security advisor. She was part of the inaugural staff of the Homeland Security Council post 9/11.
The job included working with the different government security agencies to counter terrorism. She was part of a team of officials that enacted several anti-terrorism measures.
Shortly after, Neumann served as the Homeland Security policy advisor for a year. She then worked at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. As a director, she advised the presidential appointee on homeland security.
For a brief three years, she worked at Sunesis Consulting, to help businesses with cyber security and risk assessment. Sunesis was started by Kirstjen Nielsen, a fellow Bush administration appointee, the ex-DHS secretary under President Trump, and the infamous face of the current administration’s immigrant children controversy.
Between 2018 and 2020, Neumann was part of the Department of Homeland Security. She went from deputy chief of staff to the assistant secretary for counterterrorism and threat prevention.
Her experience makes her one of the foremost names in counterterrorism and homeland security. But she resigned in April 2020, and has been a self-employed security risk and operations executive since May.
Now, in recent interviews, Neumann claims the White House has done little to counter domestic terrorism. She refers to the El Paso shooting in 2019 to explain the growing threat of right-wing extremism. Her efforts to prevent a second El Paso were supported by the White House, but she was prevented from using the word “domestic terrorism.”
A lifelong Republican, she states she voted for Donald Trump in 2016 “reluctantly.” She decided to step down from her job at DHS when she realized she could no longer support the president’s policies.
When President Trump began describing the social justice protests against the deaths of Black Americans as “domestic terrorism,” Neumann didn’t hold back her criticism of Trump for not tackling what she sees as the real domestic terrorism.
