Experts

Chris Lu

Fast Facts

  • U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for management and reform in the Biden Administration
  • Deputy secretary of labor in the Obama Administration
  • White House cabinet secretary and assistant to President Obama
  • Executive director, Obama-Biden Transition Project
  • Expertise on foreign policy, management of complex organizations, labor and workforce issues, presidential transitions

Areas Of Expertise

  • Foreign Affairs
  • Domestic Affairs
  • Jobs and Economy
  • Governance
  • Congress
  • Politics
  • The Presidency

Chris Lu is the James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. During a public service career that has spanned all three branches of the federal government, Lu’s experience includes both domestic and foreign policy as well as the management of complex organizations. 

Lu has been confirmed twice by the U.S. Senate for senior-level presidential appointments. During the Biden Administration, he served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for management and reform, where he led negotiations on the UN budget, coordinated oversight of UN programs, and managed cross-cutting issues, including global AI policy. 

During the second term of the Obama Administration, Lu served as the U.S. deputy secretary of labor. In this role, he was the chief operating officer of a Cabinet department with 17,000 employees and a $12 billion budget. 

From 2009 to 2013, Lu served as the White House cabinet secretary and assistant to the president, where he was the primary liaison between the White House and the federal agencies. President Obama said of Lu's service: “Through his dedication and tireless efforts, Chris has overseen one of the most stable and effective cabinets in history – a cabinet that has produced extraordinary accomplishments over the past four years.”

The proud son of immigrants, Lu is one of the highest-ranking Asian Americans ever to have served in the federal government. As the deputy secretary of the Labor Department, he was only the second Asian American in history to hold that position in a cabinet department. During the Obama Administration, Lu also co-chaired the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Prior to his service in the executive branch, Lu was the legislative director and acting chief of staff for then-Senator Obama. The day after Election Day 2008, he was named the executive director of the Obama-Biden transition planning team, which was widely recognized as one of the most successful presidential transitions in history.

His government experience also includes serving as the deputy chief counsel of the House Oversight Committee and a law clerk to Judge Robert E. Cowen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Outside of government, Lu was a senior advisor to FiscalNote (a global AI/technology company), a senior fellow at the Miller Center from 2017 to 2021, and the co-editor of the book Triumphs and Tragedies of the Modern Congress. Lu is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School and holds an honorary doctorate from MacMurray College.

Chris Lu News Feed

Senior Fellow Chris Lu is interviewed on MSNBC.
Chris Lu MSNBC
One Democratic presidential contender may not be looking for the White House anymore, but he’s not canceling his flights to DC just yet. Stephanie Ruhle is joined by New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley, Harvard Kennedy School Professor Arthur Brooks, and former Assistant to President Obama Chris Lu to discuss what’s in store for John Hickenlooper and the rest of the 2020 contenders.
Chris Lu MSNBC
Investors and average citizens alike are nervously watching Wall Street after the DOW had its worst day of the year. CNBC Senior Analyst Ron Insana, Politico’s Chief Economic Correspondent Ben White, LA Times White House Reporter Eli Stokols, and former Assistant to President Obama Chris Lu join Stephanie Ruhle to take a look at President Trump’s relationship with China and if the administration is doing anything to avoid another recession.
Chris Lu MSNBC
Chris Lu, former Deputy Labor Secretary and White House Cabinet Secretary during the Obama administration and frequent commentators on TV, re-joins the podcast for a third time to talk about his impression and suggestions on the 2nd Democratic Primary Debates in Detroit and how to make the forum better going forward.
Chris Lu Model Majority Podcast
President Trump is deflecting criticism and condemning the mass shootings that occurred over the weekend, but instead of being asked what actions he plans to make, some are asking: did his words contribute to the carnage? Stephanie Ruhle analyzes the president’s rhetoric amid all of this tragedy. Weighing in: Washington Post Bureau Chief Philip Rucker, PBS Newshour National Correspondent Amna Nawaz, former Deputy Labor Secretary under President Obama Chris Lu, the Storm Lake Times’ Art Cullen, journalist Ron Fournier, and New York Times op-ed columnist Bret Stephe
Chris Lu MSNBC
Senior Fellow Chris Lu talks about the July jobs report on Bloomberg Radio.
Chris Lu Bloomberg Radio