Joel Rubin is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for House Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs, beginning his service on May 5, 2014. In this capacity, he serves as the Department’s chief liaison to the U.S. House of Representatives, managing the Department’s day-to-day interactions with its oversight committees, House leadership, and other governmental agencies on topics of interest to the House of Representatives.

Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Mr. Rubin worked in the non-governmental field on national security, Middle East, and nuclear weapons issues at Ploughshares Fund, the National Security Network, and J Street. Earlier, he served as a Congressional aide for two senior Democratic Senators on foreign policy, defense, and appropriations issues, winning numerous awards. He also served as a career officer for seven years at the State Department in both Near Eastern Affairs and Political-Military Affairs, Energy Department, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, beginning his service as a Presidential Management Fellow.

Mr. Rubin has been a frequent commentator on foreign policy and national security issues on television and in print for MSNBC, CBS, BBC, the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Huffington Post, Politico, and the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. A former Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica, Mr. Rubin holds a joint Master’s degree in Public Policy and Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor’s degree in Politics from Brandeis University.