NTI Leadership Statement on the Nomination of Deborah Rosenblum to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs

Statement from Ernest J. Moniz, Sam Nunn, and Joan Rohlfing on the nomination of Deborah Rosenblum to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs:

“We are delighted that our colleague and friend, Deborah Rosenblum, has been nominated to serve in the Biden Administration as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs. Deborah will bring skilled and experienced leadership, sound judgment, and a deep understanding of today’s complex threats to this role. We strongly endorse her nomination.

“If confirmed, Deborah would lead DoD efforts in preparing for, deterring, and mitigating current and future weapons of mass destruction threats. Deborah’s previous work at DoD and her experience as Executive Vice President at the Nuclear Threat Initiative for the last 11 years have uniquely prepared her for this important position.

“Deborah’s contributions to NTI have been significant, with leadership roles in every aspect of our work. She serves on NTI’s executive leadership team and helps oversee the organization’s operations, development, and programs with an annual operating budget of $20 million. She has guided the growing NTI | bio program, developing substantive programming as well as its staff. Deborah also helps manage NTI’s work on security issues related to China and traveled there regularly to engage in dialogue with government officials and non-governmental organizations. In addition, she has led NTI’s Middle East partnerships, with a focus primarily in the Levant region. Rosenblum has served on the board of the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship since 2012 and currently serves as Chair.

“Previously, Deborah served for 12 years in senior positions at DoD in the areas of homeland defense, peacekeeping operations and support, nuclear forces, and counter-proliferation policy. While there, she represented the United States as a negotiator with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on multi-year bilateral negotiations around its nuclear program.

“We are enormously grateful for her work with NTI and are proud to strongly endorse her nomination.”