John Podesta

American political consultant (born 1949)

John Podesta has had a long and influential career in American politics, serving as a senior advisor to multiple presidents and leading various organizations. He’s currently the Senior Advisor to President Biden for International Climate Policy, overseeing the disbursement of billions in clean energy funding.

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About the John Podesta

John David Podesta Jr.is an American political consultant who has been serving as Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy since 2024, having previously served as the Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation from 2022 to 2024. Podesta previously served as White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton from 1998 to 2001 and counselor to President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2015. Before that, he served in the Clinton administration as White House staff secretary from 1993 to 1995 and White House deputy chief of staff for operations from 1997 to 1998.

He is the former president, and now chair and counselor, of the Center for American Progress (CAP), a think tank in Washington, D.C., as well as a visiting professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center and was chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Additionally, he was a co-chairman of the Obama-Biden transition team.

In his current role as senior advisor to President Biden, Podesta oversees the disbursement of $370-783 billion in clean energy tax credits and incentives authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

On January 31, 2024, it was announced that Podesta will succeed John Kerry as top U.S. climate diplomat.

Frequently Asked Questions

John Podesta has held several high-level positions in the U.S. government, including White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton, Counselor to President Barack Obama, and currently serving as Senior Advisor to President Biden for International Climate Policy.

In his current role as Senior Advisor to President Biden, John Podesta oversees the disbursement of $370–783 billion in clean energy tax credits and incentives authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

John Podesta served as the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Podesta is the former president, and now chair and counselor, of the Center for American Progress, a think tank in Washington, D.C. He has also been a visiting professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center.

On January 31, 2024, it was announced that John Podesta will succeed John Kerry as the top U.S. climate diplomat.

15 Quotes by John Podesta

  1. 1.

    I think that people have to have to have a sense of what ideas are one the progressive side, the Democratic side in order ultimately to be effective in the political world.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  2. 2.

    If that’s your definition of the Clinton faction, then I think that that seems to be in ascendancy. That might include a guy like John Edwards, who’s just starting this new center in Chapel Hill to deal with issues of poverty and work.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  3. 3.

    I believe that President Clinton considered the legal merits of the arguments for the pardon as he understood them, and he rendered his judgment, wise or unwise, on the merits.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  4. 4.

    If you ask the people who are professional political analysts, they would say that the way redistricting has worked, that the Republicans have something of a lock on the House until a redistricting occurs after 2010, particularly as a result of what DeLay did in Texas.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  5. 5.

    Ultimately I think what people care about, particularly on an issue like Social Security, is not really what’s right and what’s left but what’s right and what’s wrong.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  6. 6.

    Realistically, I think we are not prepared to go home until we do get more teachers and lower class sizes.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  7. 7.

    First and foremost, when I think of him – I’m prejudiced; I worked for the guy for six and a half years – when I think of him, I think of him first and foremost as an idea politician.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  8. 8.

    If medicine was practiced in 1965 the way it’s practiced today, there’s no question that prescriptions would have been included in Medicare.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  9. 9.

    I think that what we’ve been able to do is put together both a good group of scholars and analysts and people who aggressively want to make the case to the American public.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  10. 10.

    I think if you look at yesterday’s New York Times poll, particularly when you judge Democrats in Congress versus the Republicans in Congress, people put a little more faith, or even a little more than a little more faith in the Democrats in Congress.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  11. 11.

    That doesn’t necessarily mean they have to have an explicit proposal that they put forward that all Democrats sign up to, but I think they need to throw some ideas out that, at least directionally, point the way forward.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  12. 12.

    There are people who kind of gravitate towards running politics based on new ideas and issues, and that was what the secret was for Clinton.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  13. 13.

    So I think in those circumstances, there’s some potential that you could see a big pendulum swing like 1994, which people you thought weren’t vulnerable all of the sudden get in trouble.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  14. 14.

    So I think it’s important to communicate with the people in terms of what the real facts are on these proposals and try to have a discussion and a dialogue that gives people information. I think they’re hungry for that rather than just political rhetoric.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)

  15. 15.

    In fact, I think that Governor Clinton, when he was running, and President Clinton, when he was serving, actually governed with a wide range of advisors and a perspective that blended the best of ideas from the center and the left.

    John Podesta

    American political consultant (born 1949)