Brian Eddie Nelson is an American attorney who served as

Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence The Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is a position within the United States Department of the Treasury responsible for directing the Treasury's efforts to cut the lines of financial support for terrorists, fight financial c ...

in the Biden administration.

Education

Nelson earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

Communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and

American Literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

in 2004.

Career

After graduating from law school, Nelson clerked for judges

Louis H. Pollak Louis Heilprin Pollak (December 7, 1922 – May 8, 2012) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He served on the faculty of Yale Law School and was dean from 1965 to 1970, ...

of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and

William A. Fletcher William Alan Fletcher (born June 6, 1945) is a Senior status, Senior United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Fletcher was confirme ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. From 2006 to 2009, he was an associate at

Sidley Austin Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,000 lawyers in 20 offices worldwide. The firm's headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. The firm specializes in a variety of areas in both litigation ...

. From April 2009 to May 2010, Nelson was special counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security. He later served as deputy chief of staff of the National Security Division. From 2011 to 2015, Nelson served in the

California Department of Justice The California Department of Justice is a statewide investigative law enforcement agency and legal department of the California executive branch under the elected leadership of the California Attorney General (AG) which carries out complex cri ...

, first as special assistant attorney general and then as general counsel. Since September 2017, Nelson has worked as chief legal advisor and corporate secretary for the

2028 Summer Olympics The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...

and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

, scheduled to be hosted in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Nelson had been considered a potential nominee for a federal judgeship in the

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

by President Joe Biden. Brian E

Biden administration

On May 26, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Nelson to serve as

. On June 22, 2021, the Senate's Banking Committee held hearings on Nelson's nomination. The committee deadlocked on his nomination on October 5, 2021, in a party-line vote. The entire Senate discharged his nomination from the committee on October 19, 2021, in a 50–49 vote. On December 2, 2021, Nelson was confirmed by the Senate in a 50–49 vote.

2024 Kamala Harris presidential campaign

In July 2024, Nelson left his position with Treasury and joined Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign as a senior adviser for policy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Brian E. Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni Yale Law School alumni California lawyers Obama administration personnel Biden administration personnel Year of birth missing (living people) United States Department of the Treasury officials People associated with Sidley Austin