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With wide-ranging experience working on national security issues in the White House, the State Department, and the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Stephen Rademaker helps clients navigate international policy, sanctions, and CFIUS challenges.
Among his accomplishments in public service, Mr. Rademaker had lead responsibility, as a U.S. House staffer, for drafting the legislation that created the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Serving as an Assistant Secretary of State from 2002 through 2006, he headed at various times three bureaus of the State Department, including the Bureau of Arms Control and the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. He directed the Proliferation Security Initiative, as well as nonproliferation policy toward Iran and North Korea, and led strategic dialogues with Russia, China, India, and Pakistan. He also headed U.S. delegations to numerous international conferences, including the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Mr. Rademaker concluded his government career on Capitol Hill in 2007, serving as Senior Counsel and Policy Director for National Security Affairs for then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). In this role, he helped manage all aspects of the legislative process relating to foreign policy, defense, intelligence and national security. He earlier served as Chief Counsel for the House Select Committee on Homeland Security of the U.S. House of Representatives and as Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the House Committee on International Relations.
During President George H. W. Bush’s administration, Mr. Rademaker served as General Counsel of the Peace Corps, Associate Counsel to the President in the Office of White House Counsel, and as Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council. After leaving government in 2007, he continued to serve as the U.S. representative on the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, and he was subsequently appointed by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) to the U.S. Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.
Previous Experience
- Podesta Group, Principal
- BGR Group, Senior Counsel
- U.S. Department of State, Assistant Secretary
- U.S. Senate, Senior Counsel and Policy Director for National Security Affairs to the Majority Leader
- U.S. House of Representatives, Chief Counsel of the U.S. House Select Committee on Homeland Security
- U.S. House of Representatives, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Committee on International Relations
- Peace Corps, General Counsel
- White House, Associate Counsel to the President in the Office of White House Counsel and Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council
- U.S. Department of State, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs
- U.S. International Trade Commission, Counsel to the Vice Chairman
- Covington and Burling LLP, Associate
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Law Clerk to the Honorable James Buckley
November 16, 2020, Covington Alert
On Thursday, November 12, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order (the “Order”) that, beginning on January 11, 2021, will prohibit U.S. persons from transacting in the publicly traded securities of 31 companies that the Department of Defense has identified as “Communist Chinese military companies.” The requirement for the Department of Defense to create ...
October 14, 2020, Covington Alert
On October 8, 2020, the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced the imposition of comprehensive sanctions against 18 major Iranian banks. As part of the same action, the Treasury Department identified the “financial sector” of the Iranian economy as subject to sanctions under Executive Order No. 13902 (the ...
September 21, 2020, Covington Alert
On September 19, 2020, China’s Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") issued regulations that provide new details on the government’s plans for an “Unreliable Entity List” first proposed in May 2019.
August 20, 2020, Covington Alert
On August 17, 2020, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) released a Final Rule (the “August 17 Final Rule”) significantly expanding U.S. export controls restrictions on certain non-U.S. items reexported, exported from abroad, or transferred (in-country) in transactions involving Huawei or its affiliates designated on the BIS Entity ...
July 16, 2020, Covington Alert
In our client alert of May 29, 2020, we reported on the initial U.S. government reaction to the announced intention of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress (“NPC”), to unilaterally impose national security legislation on Hong Kong. As expected, on June 30, the NPC unanimously adopted the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding ...
July 8, 2020, Covington Alert
In recent years and with increased vigor in recent months, stakeholders and governments, including the United States, have focused on labor-related and other human rights issues concerning the treatment of Uyghur and other minority Muslim groups in the Xinjiang region of China. In this post, we provide an overview of some of these developments and considerations ...
May 29, 2020, Covington Alert
On May 27, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo certified to Congress pursuant to the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 that "Hong Kong does not continue to warrant treatment under United States laws in the same manner as U.S. laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1997." In a statement, Secretary Pompeo attributed this action to the announced ...
May 21, 2020, Covington Alert
In an effort to curtail access by China’s Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. to products made using U.S. semiconductor software and technology, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) on May 15, 2020, released an Interim Final Rule expanding and extending U.S. export controls jurisdiction to certain non-U.S. items when destined for Huawei or ...
April 29, 2020, Covington Alert
On April 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) published two final rules and one proposed rule to modify certain license exceptions and definitions in the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) (15 CFR Parts 730 – 774), based on concern that sensitive products and technologies were being diverted to military uses ...
January 15, 2020, Covington Alert
On January 10, 2020, President Trump issued a new Executive Order (“January 10 Executive Order”) that provides authority for the imposition of sanctions with respect to certain additional sectors of Iran’s economy, including Iran’s construction, mining, manufacturing, and textiles sectors. The January 10 Executive Order introduces both property-blocking ...
October 10, 2019, Covington Alert
On October 9, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a Final Rule adding 20 Chinese government entities and eight Chinese private sector entities (“Listed Entities”) to the Entity List maintained by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”).
September 10, 2019
The U.S. Department of the Treasury is expected to issue soon proposed regulations implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”), legislation enacted in August 2018 that reformed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”). FIRRMA transformed CFIUS’s authorities, but many of the most ...
August 28, 2019, Covington Alert
On August 23, 2019, President Donald J. Trump tweeted: "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing . . . your companies HOME and making your products in the USA."
August 20, 2019, Covington Alert
On August 19, 2019, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a Final Rule adding 46 non-U.S. affiliates of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (“Huawei”) to the Entity List and extended, through November 18, 2019, a revised Temporary General License (“TGL”) authorizing certain transactions with Huawei and listed Huawei entities.
August 8, 2019, Covington Alert
On August 5, 2019, President Trump issued Executive Order 13884 imposing comprehensive sanctions against the Government of Venezuela. Specifically, the Executive Order blocks all property and interests in property of the Government of Venezuela that are in or that come into the United States or the possession or control of a U.S. person.
May 7, 2019, Covington Alert
We are writing to provide an update on the current trends and operations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”). Approximately nine months after the enactment of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”) and six months into the Critical Technology Pilot Program (“the Pilot ...
April 25, 2019, Covington Alert
The Trump Administration has announced multiple U.S. sanctions measures over the past several weeks, further tightening the sanctions on Iran and imposing additional measures on Venezuela and its allies, Cuba and Nicaragua.
January 29, 2019, Covington Alert
November 20, 2018, Covington Alert
On November 19, 2018, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) requesting public comment on the criteria to identify emerging technologies essential to U.S. national security. The comments will inform the interagency process that was authorized under the Export Control ...
November 6, 2018, Covington Alert
The Trump Administration yesterday completed the reimposition of sanctions against Iran that previously were suspended as part of the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”).
October 11, 2018, Covington Alert
Summary On October 10, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), issued interim rules (the “Interim Rules”) that update the CFIUS regulations to address certain definitional and procedural aspects of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”) and, for the first time, ...
August 30, 2018, Covington Alert
On August 27, 2018, the Department of State imposed sanctions against Russia pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) in response to Russia’s use of a chemical nerve agent against a UK citizen.
August 13, 2018, Covington Alert
Earlier today, President Donald Trump signed into law the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) as part of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act. As we have previously reported, FIRRMA will transform the jurisdiction, authority, and operation of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Our previous ...
August 8, 2018, Covington Alert
On August 6, 2018, President Trump issued Executive Order 13846 (the “Executive Order”) that re-imposes -- and to a limited extent broadens the scope of -- certain U.S. secondary sanctions targeting Iran that had been suspended in January 2016 pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) with Iran.
July 30, 2018, Covington Alert
On July 23, the final text of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (“ECRA”) was released as part of the Conference Report to accompany the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for fiscal year 2019. The NDAA is a must-pass piece of legislation that authorizes funding for the Department of Defense, and we expect it to be enacted and signed within the next ...
July 25, 2018, Covington Alert
Summary For over a year, we have reported to our clients as the U.S. government considered and developed legislation that would fundamentally reform the operations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). That effort has been driven by concerns about risks arising from evolving foreign investment composition and business ...
July 2, 2018, Covington Alert
In furtherance of President Trump’s May 8, 2018 announcement that the United States is withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) (discussed in our recent alert), on June 27 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced several changes to the U.S. sanctions against Iran.
June 27, 2018, Covington Alert
We write to report on two important developments regarding the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), a bi-partisan effort to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and the broader policy debate within the U.S. government on regulatory mechanisms to address foreign investment, particularly from China. On June ...
June 15, 2018, Covington Alert
As described in our May 9, 2018, alert, the United States determined on May 8, 2018, to end its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) and re-impose sanctions against Iran that had been suspended as part of this 2015 nuclear agreement between the United States, Iran, Germany, France, the UK, and China.
May 16, 2018, Covington Alert
We are writing to report on the current status of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”), legislation to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”). FIRRMA, a bill introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Senate and Congressman Robert Pittenger (R-NC) in the House, seeks to ...
May 15, 2018, Covington Alert
On May 8, 2018, the United States announced the decision to end its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) and re-impose sanctions against Iran that had been suspended as part of this 2015 nuclear agreement between the United States, Iran, Germany, France, the UK and China.
May 9, 2018, Covington Alert
On May 8, 2018, President Trump announced his decision to end U.S. participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) and re-impose sanctions against Iran that had been suspended as part of this 2015 nuclear agreement between the United States, Iran, and certain other governments. This action will have far-reaching effects for both U.S. and ...
May 9, 2018, Covington Alert
On May 8, 2018, President Trump announced his decision to end U.S. participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) and re-impose sanctions against Iran that had been suspended as part of this 2015 nuclear agreement between the United States, Iran, and certain other governments. This action will have far-reaching effects for both U.S. and ...
Confronting the Iranian Challenge
May 8, 2018, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives
April 6, 2018, Covington Alert
On April 6, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced expanded sanctions against Russian entities and individuals, targeting a number of Russian oligarchs in the energy, banking, and other sectors and companies they own or control, as well as 17 senior Russian government officials.
March 8, 2018, Covington Alert
On February 15, 2018, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) introduced bipartisan legislation—the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (“ECRA”)⸺to modernize U.S. export control regulation of commercial and dual-use items.
November 8, 2017, Covington Alert
During the past two weeks, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the U.S. Department of State have taken a number of steps toward implementing aspects of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (“CAATSA”), a major piece of sanctions legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in July and signed by ...
October 17, 2017, Covington Alert
On October 13, President Trump announced that he would no longer certify to Congress that the suspension of U.S. sanctions against Iran pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) is “appropriate and proportionate” to the steps that Iran has taken to terminate its illicit nuclear program. The President’s much-anticipated announcement does not ...
Covington adds to bench strength in Washington, DC
October 10, 2017, Commercial Dispute Resolution
Commercial Dispute Resolution highlights Covington's 16-partner promotion, as well as the arrivals of Jennifer Saulino and Stephen Rademaker.
September 26, 2017, The Wall Street Journal
Stephen Rademaker is quoted by The Wall Street Journal in an article regarding potential restrictions to Russian military flights over American territory. According to Rademaker, "[Russia is] imposing nuisance restrictions that diminish the usefulness of the treaty to the U.S." He adds, "Russia will comply to the extent they feel they have to or want to. That's ...
Covington Adds State Dept. Veteran To Govt. Affairs Team
September 12, 2017, Law360
Stephen Rademaker is quoted in a Law360 article regarding Rademaker's recent arrival to Covington's Public Policy and Government Affairs practice. According to Rademaker, an increased reliance on sanctions as a U.S. foreign policy tool, and a presidential administration that has expressed enthusiasm for restrictive trade policies, are likely to drive increased ...
Covington Snags Rademaker
September 6, 2017, Politico
Stephen Rademaker is quoted in a Politico article regarding his recent arrival to Covington, a move described as "something of a homecoming." Commenting on reuniting with familiar faces, including Howard Berman, Rademaker says, "His office is now right next to mine, so I see him every day."
Leading National Security Advisor Joins Covington
September 6, 2017
WASHINGTON—Stephen Rademaker has joined Covington’s Public Policy and Government Affairs practice in Washington. With wide-ranging experience working on national security issues in the White House, the State Department, and the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Mr. Rademaker focuses on legislative and policy issues involving sanctions, trade controls, ...
The Administration’s Proposal for a U.N. Resolution on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
September 7, 2016, Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate
December 4, 2015, Fox News
October 21, 2015, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
July 17, 2015, Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, U.S. House of Representatives
July 9, 2015, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives
April 22, 2015, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives
October 8, 2014, Washington Post
June 20, 2014, Arguendo
Published by the American Bar Association’s International Criminal Court Project and the Stanford Law School Project on International and Comparative Law.
Verifying Iran’s Nuclear Compliance
June 10, 2014, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives
October 30, 2013, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations
August 1, 2012, Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, U.S. House of Representatives
June 20, 2012, Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives
- Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit from the government of Poland (2009)
Education
University of Virginia, M.A., 1985
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1984
- Order of the Coif
University of Virginia, B.A., 1981
- Highest Distinction
- Phi Beta Kappa