Chris Lu '88 to leave White House role as cabinet secretary for time off

Longtime Obama adviser and Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu ’88 will leave the White House Feb. 25 to take some time off from his fast-paced Washington career.

Lu said his departure comes at the “right time” for himself and the administration, citing his eight years of professional experience with the president. Lu was legislative director and acting chief of staff for then-Senator Obama’s office from 2005 to 2008, executive director of the Obama-Biden Transition Project in 2008 and cabinet secretary from 2008 to early 2013.

“There’s going to be a lot of change in the second term, and it’s important for the president to have some new blood in the operation of the second term,” he said.

In his decision to leave the White House, Lu joins other prominent Cabinet members who will not serve for a second term, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.

In a Jan. 25 statement, Obama praised Lu’s longtime dedication and left open the possibility that Lu could pursue future opportunities in his administration.

Though Lu said his immediate plans are to “enjoy some things I haven’t had a chance to enjoy over the last eight years,” he indicated that he would assess his career goals when the time came and decide accordingly whether to rejoin the Obama administration in a new capacity.

“The door is certainly open, and I’m very grateful to the president for suggesting some opportunities,” Lu said. “When I make a decision, the first person I will tell is the President.

As cabinet secretary, Lu served as the primary liaison between the president and the Cabinet secretaries who headed federal agencies by coordinating agency action on the White House’s agenda and resolving problems that arose between the president and agency heads.

Presiding over a Cabinet described by the president as “one of the most stable and effective Cabinets in history,” Lu said that his proudest accomplishment as cabinet secretary was the “sense of camaraderie and cohesion” within the Cabinet.

“I certainly can’t take complete credit for fostering that sense of camaraderie, that’s really the President,” Lu said. “But being part of this team and helping to create that sense of team spirit … I think will be my legacy.”

Alisa Tiwari ’14, who interned in the White House’s Office of Cabinet Affairs this past summer, characterized Lu as an approachable official who took the time to talk with interns over coffee or a meal in the White House dining hall.

“He made … an active effort to create a comfortable atmosphere that included the interns,” Tiwari said. “As a mentor, he was both inclusive and encouraging.”

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After his appointment as cabinet secretary, Lu became one of the most powerful Asian Americans in the Obama administration, joining the ranks of Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of Veteran Affairs Eric Shinseki. He also served as the co-chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a program that seeks to provide access to federal programs to underserved Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

When asked if he thought his tenure as cabinet secretary had advanced the cause of Asian-American civil rights, Lu said he hoped it had. He expressed his enjoyment in traveling across the country as cabinet secretary and initiative co-chair to talk to young Asian Americans about the administration’s agenda and the importance of public service.

“If I’ve inspired people, then I’m happy about that,” Lu said. “I’ve tried to set a good example for what a public servant should be.”

However, Lu also emphasized the increased numbers of Asian Americans appointed to high-profile positions in the White House, federal agencies and the courts under the Obama administration.

“It’s not just my legacy, but I think it’s the broader legacy of this administration,” he said. “I think as young people see more Asian Americans serving in roles like the ones I have, hopefully that will inspire more to serve.”

Outgoing president of the Asian-American Students Association Judy Sun ’14 also noted the greater numbers of Asian American candidates for public office in recent years and attributed the rise in part to the prominence of Asian Americans in high-profile offices.

“I think we already see a movement happening, and it definitely can be attributed to the fact that there have been in recent years so many Asian Americans like the Cabinet Secretary and so forth,” Sun said. “I do feel like Chris Lu did do incredible work just for like being there.”

At the University, Lu majored in the Wilson School and wrote his senior thesis about press coverage of presidential campaigns. Though Lu said he became interested in politics before coming to Princeton, he credits the University for helping him to develop a spirit of public service.

After receiving a congratulatory letter on his University acceptance from the Princeton Club of Washington signed by U.S. senators and Princeton alumni Bill Bradley ’65, Claiborne Pell ’40 and Paul Sarbanes ’54, Lu said he was deeply impressed and began to see the importance of public service.

Referring to the University’s motto, “In the nation’s service and in the service of all nations,” Lu said his undergraduate years solidified his commitment to public service and led him to meet many Princetonians both in the administration and throughout the U.S. government.

“It’s an important legacy of the University, and I’m proud to be a small part of that,” he said.

After graduating from the University, Lu attended Harvard Law School, where he was one of Obama’s classmates. He clerked briefly for Judge Robert E. Cowen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and worked for several years as a litigation attorney at law firm Sidley & Austin. He served as an adviser to the 2004 Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign and as the deputy chief counsel on the Democratic staff of the House Government Reform Committee before going to work for Senator Obama in 2005.

Noting that his 25th reunion is coming this year, Lu said he is looking forward to returning to campus.