Matthew Kenney

Matthew Kenney is Vice President for Government Affairs at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).

Kenney brings more than 15 years of legislative advocacy and communications experience to his role at JINSA, having previously served in both the Office of the Secretary of Defense and in the Office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

From 2018-2021, Kenney worked in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, performing the duties of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (PDASD) for Legislative Affairs from 2020-2021.  During his tenure he spearheaded comprehensive legislative engagement strategies that contributed to the successful passage of multiple defense authorization and appropriations acts, including the legislative strategy that led to the creation of U.S. Space Force.  From 2018-2020 Kenney served as Director for Strategic Communications in Legislative Affairs.

From 2007-2018, Kenney served as Research Director in the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, researching and writing thousands of press releases and executing multi-platform media campaigns that actively helped achieve major policy objectives.

Mr. Kenney earned an A.B. with honors in classical studies from Dartmouth College.