Jack Lew

Jacob Lew
Jacob Lew
Born	August 29, 1955 (age 71); New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, diplomat
Years active	1974–present
Known for	28th United States Ambassador to Israel (2023–2025), 76th United States Secretary of the Treasury (2013–2017), 25th White House Chief of Staff (2012–2013), Director of the Office of Management and Budget

Jacob Joseph Lew (born August 29, 1955) is an American lawyer and diplomat who held the position of the 28th United States ambassador to Israel between 2023 and 2025. He was the 76th United States secretary of the treasury from 2013 until 2017. Affiliated with the Democratic Party, Lew also occupied the role of the 25th White House chief of staff from 2012 to 2013 and served as director of the Office of Management and Budget during both the Clinton administration and Obama administration.

Within the Obama administration, Lew initially acted as the first-ever deputy secretary of state for management and resources from 2009 to 2010. He then returned to serve as OMB Director from 2010 to 2012 before assuming the chief of staff role for the remainder of Obama's first term.

Lew was nominated on January 10, 2013, to succeed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, confirmed by the Senate on February 27, and officially sworn in on February 28, maintaining this position until the conclusion of Obama's presidency in 2017. Following this tenure, he became a managing partner at Lindsay Goldberg, a private equity firm based in New York City, and took up a visiting professorship at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Early life, education, and early career

Born in New York City to Ruth (née Turoff) and Irving Lew, Jacob Lew comes from a Jewish family background. He attended public schools within New York City and graduated from Forest Hills High School. His father, who was both a lawyer and a rare book dealer, immigrated from Poland during his childhood. Lew spent a year studying at Carleton College under the guidance of future Senator Paul Wellstone, before earning his degree from Harvard College in 1978 and later obtaining his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1983.

Between 1974 and 1975, he worked as an aide for Representative Joe Moakley (D-Mass.), and in 1979 served as senior policy adviser to House Speaker Tip O'Neill. His tenure at the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee included roles as Assistant Director and subsequently Executive Director, where he concentrated on domestic and economic policies such as Social Security, Medicare, budgeting, taxation, trade, appropriations, and energy matters.

Lew practiced law for five years as a partner at Van Ness Feldman and Curtis with a focus on electric power generation. Additionally, he held positions including Executive Director at the Center for Middle East Research, Issues Director for the Democratic National Committee's Campaign ’88, and Deputy Director at Boston's Office of Management and Budget.

Clinton administration

From February 1993 until 1994, Lew was Special Assistant to the President under President Bill Clinton, responsible for guiding policy development and drafting significant initiatives like the national service program (AmeriCorps) and health care reform legislation introduced in 1993. He departed from the White House in October 1994 to assume roles as Executive Associate Director and Associate Director for Legislative Affairs at OMB.

Between August 1995 and July 1998, Lew served as Deputy Director of OMB where he acted as chief operating officer overseeing a workforce of approximately 500 employees while managing budgetary and appropriations coordination for the Clinton administration. He was instrumental in negotiating key legislation such as the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

President Clinton nominated Lew for OMB director; after Senate confirmation on July 31, 1998, he led budgetary policies, management strategies, and appropriations until January 2001. In this Cabinet-level capacity and as a senior economic advisor, Lew represented the administration during budget discussions with Congress and participated actively in the United States National Security Council.

Between Clinton and Obama administrations

Following his departure from the Clinton administration, Lew took on the role of executive vice president for operations at New York University and served as a clinical professor at NYU's Wagner School. During this period, he played a role in terminating collective bargaining rights for graduate students, although the Obama administration later asserted his support for labor unions. In the 2002–2003 academic year, Lew's earnings totaled $840,339, and NYU forgave several hundred thousand dollars in mortgage loans extended to him. In 2004, President George W. Bush appointed him to the board of directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, a position he held until 2008.

In June 2006, Lew assumed the position of chief operating officer for Citigroup's Alternative Investments division, a proprietary trading group that invested in a hedge fund wagering on a downturn in the housing market. During the 2008 financial crisis, he made significant investments in funds domiciled in Ugland House and managed Citigroup’s subsidiaries located in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Hong Kong; notably, under his supervision, the number of Citigroup subsidiaries in the Cayman Islands grew to 113.

Lew co-chaired the Advisory Board for City Year New York and holds memberships with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Brookings Institution Hamilton Project Advisory Board, and the National Academy of Social Insurance. Additionally, he is licensed to practice law in both Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

Deputy Secretary of State

As Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Lew functioned as the State Department’s chief operating officer with responsibility for resource management, while James Steinberg focused on policy matters. Lew also co-led the department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review.

Budget director

On July 13, 2010, the White House announced that Lew would succeed Peter Orszag as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), subject to Senate confirmation. During his confirmation hearings, Lew expressed that he did not consider deregulation to be the immediate cause of the 2008 financial crisis, emphasizing that issues within the financial sector predated deregulation efforts. He was confirmed unanimously by the Senate on November 18, 2010.

The $3.7 trillion budget for 2011 introduced by President Obama projected deficit reductions totaling $1.1 trillion over ten years, dependent on legislative approval and economic developments. Approximately two-thirds of these reductions were anticipated from spending cuts, including a five-year freeze on discretionary spending and savings in mandatory programs such as Medicare, along with decreased interest payments. The remainder was expected to come from tax increases, including limits on itemized deductions for higher-income taxpayers and elimination of tax incentives for oil and gas companies. Economist William K. Black criticized this budget as an "ode to austerity," cautioning it might induce a recession.

In a Huffington Post editorial, Lew detailed Administration goals for deficit reduction: $400 billion saved through non-security discretionary spending freezes, $78 billion cut from the Department of Defense budget, reinstatement of Clinton-era tax rates for the top 2% of earners, and a reduction of the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.

Chief of Staff

On January 9, 2012, President Obama announced that Lew would succeed William M. Daley as White House Chief of Staff. His appointment was met with scrutiny due to reports indicating he had received bonuses exceeding $900,000 while employed at Citigroup, a bank that had been bailed out with $45 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) after suffering a loss of $27.7 billion, which equated to a 90% decline in its value.

Throughout his time in this role, Lew played a crucial part as a negotiator and advocate for a "grand bargain" between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, designed to prevent the "fiscal cliff" scenario involving automatic spending cuts and tax hikes.

Secretary of the Treasury

President Obama nominated Lew as Secretary of the Treasury on January 10, 2013. Lew’s uniquely elaborate signature, which appeared on U.S. currency during his term, attracted media attention and even led Obama to jokingly consider withdrawing the nomination. Subsequently, Lew adopted a more traditional signature style for official currency. Confirmation hearings were conducted by the Senate Finance Committee on February 13, 2013. During these sessions, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley questioned Lew’s lack of knowledge about Ugland House, despite having investments there while at Citigroup amid the 2008 financial crisis. This investment incurred an approximate 2.8% loss, amounting to around $1,582. The committee approved his nomination with a 19–5 vote on February 26, 2013.

The full Senate confirmed Lew by a vote of 71–26 on February 27, 2013; he was officially sworn in the next day.

In December 2013, Lew cautioned that government funds might be depleted by early 2014, potentially sparking a congressional impasse over raising the debt limit. He stressed that increasing the debt ceiling did not permit new expenditures but allowed payment for obligations already incurred.

In May 2014, Lew was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Georgetown University and delivered remarks at the first commencement ceremony of the McCourt School of Public Policy.

In 2016, a dramatized portrayal of Lew appeared in two episodes of the television series Mr. Robot.

Ambassador to Israel

On September 5, 2023, President Biden put forward Lew’s nomination as U.S. ambassador to Israel. His confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took place on October 18, 2023, during heightened tensions following the October 7 attacks and subsequent Gaza war. Although his nomination preceded these events, the urgency surrounding his confirmation intensified as conflict escalated. While Republicans recognized the importance of having an appointed ambassador, they opposed Lew due to his involvement in the multinational nuclear agreement with Iran during the Obama administration, expressing doubts about his trustworthiness in matters concerning Israel.

On October 25, 2023, the committee advanced his nomination with a 12–9 vote; notably, Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, sided with Democrats. The full United States Senate voted to invoke cloture on October 31 by a margin of 53–44 and later confirmed Lew that same day with a vote of 53–43; Republicans Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham joined Democrats in supporting him. Lew formally presented his credentials to President Isaac Herzog on November 5, 2023.

In January 2024, Lew endorsed the U.S. State Department’s authorization of Boeing-produced GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb sales to Israel, contending these weapons would help reduce civilian casualties. However, GBU-39 bombs were subsequently linked to strikes on heavily populated civilian locations such as the Tel al-Sultan attack, Al-Sardi school attack, and Al-Tabaeen school attack. Embassy personnel in Jerusalem and Washington repeatedly expressed concerns about civilian fatalities and effects on Palestinian embassy staff to Lew; these issues were notably absent from his diplomatic communications.

Personal life

Lew is married to Ruth Schwartz, his partner since high school. While serving as Chief of Staff, he traveled regularly to Washington from their residence in the Riverdale area of the Bronx, New York City. Together, they have two adult children, one of whom is Shoshana Lew, the leader of the Colorado Department of Transportation.

An Orthodox Jew, Lew observes the Jewish Shabbat and has been affiliated with several congregations, including Beth Sholom in Potomac, Maryland; TheSHUL of the Nation's Capital; Kesher Israel in Washington, D.C.; and the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in the Bronx. His religious practices have not impacted his work responsibilities. Additionally, Lew maintains strong ties within the American Jewish community, which may facilitate diplomatic interactions with Israeli officials.

At age 16, Lew played a key role in organizing The New York March Against Hunger. In recognition of his enduring commitment to social justice, he received an honor from Queens Community House in 2018.

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