Dennis Shea was appointed to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on February 17, 2007 by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for a term expiring on December 31, 2008.
An attorney with more than 20 years of experience in government and public policy, Mr. Shea began his career as a corporate lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. In 1988, he joined the Office of Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole as counsel and later became the Office’s deputy chief of staff. In these capacities, he advised Senator Dole and other Republican Senators on a broad range of domestic policy issues, was involved in the drafting of numerous pieces of legislation, and was recognized as one of the most influential staffers on Capitol Hill. Mr. Shea’s service in the Office of the Senate Republican Leader was interrupted in 1992, when he ran for Congress in New York’s 7th Congressional District after receiving the Republican and Conservative Party nominations.
In 1995 and 1996, Mr. Shea continued to help shape the national public policy debate while serving as director of policy for the Dole for President campaign.
Following the 1996 presidential election, Mr. Shea worked in the private sector, providing legislative and public affairs counsel to Fortune 500 companies, major U.S. financial institutions, professional associations, and children’s hospitals, while employed at BKSH & Associates and Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand. Mr. Shea also served as a consultant to the American Enterprise Institute and The Brookings Institution on a report that outlined recommendations for reforming the independent counsel statute.
In 2003, Mr. Shea was named the Executive Director of the President’s Commission on the United States Postal Service. Many of the Commission’s recommendations were adopted as part of postal reform legislation recently enacted by Congress and signed into law. In 2004, Mr. Shea was nominated by President George W. Bush and later confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research (“PD&R”) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As the head of the PD&R office, Mr. Shea led a team responsible for conducting much of the critical economic analysis necessary to support HUD’s mission. In 2005, Mr. Shea left HUD to serve as senior advisor to Senator Elizabeth Dole in her capacity as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Mr. Shea received a J.D., an M.A. in American History, and a B.A. in Government, all from Harvard University. His commentaries and articles have appeared on MSNBC.com and in National Review, The Washington Post, The Washington Times and the Harvard Journal on Legislation, among others.
Mr. Shea is admitted to the bar in New York and the District of Columbia.
He currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Juliette.