Release: Former Acting Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Elaine McCusker Joins the American Enterprise Institute

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Washington, DC (August 6, 2020) – Kori Schake, the director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), announced today that Elaine McCusker, who most recently served as the acting under secretary of defense (comptroller) at the Department of Defense, is joining AEI as a resident fellow.

“It’s a great privilege to have a defense expert of Elaine McCusker’s integrity and breadth of knowledge join our foreign and defense policy team,” said Schake. “We’re excited about the research she’ll undertake, and look forward to what we will learn from her. Her experience with running the Defense Department’s $700 billion budget will be an invaluable addition to AEI’s project on the risks of underfunding defense strategy and the budget analysis software we’re developing with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and War on the Rocks.”

At AEI, McCusker will focus on defense strategy, budget, and innovation; the US military; and national security. Her background in defense planning and budgeting, military campaign assessments, defense data analytics, and contingency operations will be indispensable in her AEI work.

As the Department of Defense’s comptroller, McCusker played a crucial role in the department’s audit process, and in the development of the FY18 to FY21 budgets. During her more than 13 years in the Defense Department, she served in various posts, including at US Central Command, where she dealt with warfighting analysis and experimentation, resourcing capability gaps, and contingency budget development and execution; in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller); and with the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition.

McCusker previously worked on Capitol Hill as a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Earlier, she served in legislative and government relations positions at Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Washington.

“I am looking forward to joining the defense program at AEI and working with my colleagues to shape policy on important issues related to defense strategy and spending,” said McCusker.

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