Michael J. McCord
The Honorable Mike McCord was sworn in as the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer on June 1, 2021. He is the first person to be confirmed twice for this position.
Immediately prior to his confirmation he served as the Director, Civil-Military Programs at the Stennis Center for Public Service, as an adjunct researcher at the Institute for Defense Analyses, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Aerospace Corporation. In 2017, he was appointed to the congressionally mandated Commission on the National Defense Strategy for the United States, which released its report Providing for the Common Defense in November 2018.
From January 2009 through January 2017 he served at the U.S. Department of Defense as the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer and before that as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). He was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for each of these positions. In these roles he advised Secretaries of Defense Bob Gates, Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel and Ash Carter on all budgetary and financial matters and was responsible for development and execution of annual defense budgets in excess of $550 billion.
Prior to his service at the Department of Defense, Mr. McCord served for 24 years in the legislative branch, including 21 years as a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) for former Senators and Chairmen Sam Nunn and Carl Levin. As a member of the Senate staff his primary focus was on budget, fiscal policy, and military readiness and installation issues. Mr. McCord also served on the staff of the House Budget Committee as an analyst on defense and veterans programs, and as a cost analyst at the Congressional Budget Office.
Mr. McCord has a B.A. with honors in Economics from the Ohio State University and a Master of Arts in Public Policy from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.