Mike Gottlieb

Mike was Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Associate White House Counsel to the President and senior White House staff, advising the president, vice president, and senior agency officials on a range of national policy issues, including those related to health care, transportation and infrastructure, national defense and homeland security, privacy and technology, immigration, civil rights and religious liberty, executive power and authority, and labor. 

Prior to his work at the White House, Mike practiced law before the U. S. Supreme Court, where his advocacy was covered by The New York Times, The Washington Times, NPR, The Guardian, The Washington Post, CNN, The National Law Journal, and The Associated Press. Mike clerked for the Honorable Thomas B. Griffith, nominated by President George W. Bush.  He also worked in the executive branch of the Bush administration at the United States Department of Health and Human Services and as an advisor for several years in the health care sector. Mike has taught health law and medical ethics at Yale University and Georgetown University.

Mike is a Major in the United States Air Force Reserve assigned to the Pentagon. He is the first openly gay officer to be commissioned to the United States military following the repeal of the military’s longstanding prohibition against such open service. He is also a sworn patrol officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (reserve). A graduate of Yale, Johns Hopkins, and the University of London, Mike holds degrees in law, public health, psychology, and linguistics. A former US-UK Fulbright Scholar, he has been honored with awards from the LGBT Bar Association, the United States Air Force, and the Judge Advocate General. 

A native of California, Mike now lives in Washington, D.C., with Ari Shapiro, host of All Things Considered.