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Lisa D. Kenna

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Lisa Kenna
Official portrait, 2023
Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 20, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJohn R. Bass (Acting)
26th and 29th Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 20, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byDereck J. Hogan
In office
June 15, 2017 – November 18, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJoseph Macmanus
Succeeded byKamala S. Lakhdhir
Acting United States Secretary of State
In office
January 20, 2025 – January 21, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byAntony Blinken
Succeeded byMarco Rubio
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research
In office
July 5, 2024 – January 20, 2025
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byBrett Holmgren
Succeeded byLeila Gardner (Acting)
United States Ambassador to Peru
In office
March 22, 2021 – September 8, 2023
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byDenison Offutt (Acting)
Succeeded byJohn T. McNamara (Acting)
Personal details
Born
Lisa Dougherty

(1965-08-19) August 19, 1965 (age 59)
Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyIndependent
EducationMiddlebury College (BA)
University of Connecticut, Hartford (JD)

Lisa S. Dougherty Kenna[1] (born August 19, 1965)[2] is an American diplomat who has served as Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State since January 2025. She had served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research from September 11, 2023, to January 20, 2025.[3] She had served as the United States Ambassador to Peru from March 2021 to September 2023.[4][5] She served as Acting Secretary of State for only a day, as Senator Marco Rubio was confirmed by the Senate on the day of her appointment, and was later sworn in on January 21, 2025.[6][7]

Early life and education

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Kenna is the daughter of Air Force Colonel Andrew Joseph Dougherty[8] and Marjorie Marie (Schrader) Dougherty.[9] Kenna studied at Middlebury College and the University of Connecticut School of Law. She worked as an attorney in private practice before joining the Central Intelligence Agency.[citation needed] She spent nine years with the CIA and then joined the Foreign Service.[10]

Career

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She served as the Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State beginning in 2017, succeeding Joseph E. Macmanus, during Donald Trump"s first term.[11][12]

On October 1, 2019, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit was issued by American Oversight, an American activist group, against the U.S. Department of State, requesting communications of a list of several officials including Kenna in connection to the Trump–Ukraine scandal.[13] In the same week, text messages were released, including a single text where Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland redirected Acting Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor to Kenna over concerns that Taylor held.[14][15][undue weight? – discuss]

On May 1, 2020, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Kenna to be the next United States Ambassador to the Republic of Peru.[16] On May 6, 2020, her nomination was sent to the Senate.[17] On July 23, 2020, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[18] On November 18, 2020, her nomination was confirmed in the United States Senate by voice vote.[19] Lisa Kenna presented her credentials to the President Francisco Sagasti on March 22, 2021[20] On September 8, 2023, she was succeeded in the role by ad interim Chargé d"Affaires John T. McNamara.[5][21]

On January 20, 2025, President Trump, newly inaugurated for his second term, appointed Kenna to serve as Acting Secretary of State for an interim basis until the U.S. Senate voted to confirm President Trump"s nominee, Senator Marco Rubio.[6] Kenna only served less than 24 hours in her role as the Senate voted to confirm Senator Rubio to the position later that same evening, and was sworn in as Secretary of State the next day.

Personal

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Lisa Kenna was married to Roger T. Kenna.[22] She speaks Arabic, Persian and Urdu.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "PN1377 — Foreign Service". April 29, 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  2. ^ "Lisa D. Kenna (1965–)". U.S. State Department. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  3. ^ "Lisa Kenna". U.S. State Department.
  4. ^ "✍️ Embajadora de Estados Unidos en Perú presentó sus credenciales". March 24, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Quiero agradecer a todos los peruanos por recibirme en su país con los brazos abiertos. Aunque mi periodo como Embajadora de los Estados Unidos en el Perú ha llegado a su fin, llevaré siempre al pueblo peruano en mi corazón 🇵🇪❤️".
  6. ^ a b "President Trump Announces Acting Cabinet and Cabinet-Level Positions". The White House. January 20, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  7. ^ Foran, Clare (January 20, 2025). "Senate votes to confirm Marco Rubio as secretary of state, first Trump Cabinet official to be approved | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  8. ^ "Dougherty, Andrew J". ANC Explorer. U.S. Army. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  9. ^ Estrada, Louis (July 26, 1997). "Andrew J. Dougherty". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  10. ^ "Kenna, Lisa - Republic of Peru - May 2020". Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; March 3, 2024 suggested (help)
  11. ^ Oh, Kate (March 14, 2018). "The Personnel Crisis Awaiting the Next Secretary of State". Just Security.
  12. ^ Lisa D. Kenna
  13. ^ American Oversight, v. U.S. Department of State (D.D.C.), Text.
  14. ^ READ: Text messages between US diplomats and Ukrainians released by House Democrats - CNN
  15. ^ "Crazy to withhold security assistance" to Ukraine for political campaign: Top US diplomat - ABC News
  16. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts – The White House". The White House. May 1, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  17. ^ "One Nomination Sent to the Senate – The White House". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov.
  18. ^ "Nominations". U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  19. ^ "PN1816 - Nomination of Lisa S. Kenna for Department of State, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.congress.gov. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  20. ^ "✍️ Embajadora de Estados Unidos en Perú presentó sus credenciales". March 24, 2021.
  21. ^ "Deputy Chief of Mission Joan Perkins". August 20, 2024.
  22. ^ "Statement of Lisa Kenna, Nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Peru" (PDF). U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Peru
2021–2023 		Succeeded by
John McNamara
Chargé d"Affaires
Political offices
Preceded by United States Secretary of State
Acting
2025 		Succeeded by
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