Mary McCord is a left-of-center attorney, academic, and former Obama administration Department of Justice official who directs the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at the Georgetown University Law Center.

McCord was a federal prosecutor for 20 years before taking a senior position in the Justice Department in the Obama administration where she was ultimately the Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney for National Security. She is a frequent commentator in support of left-of-center policy issues regarding election administration and gun control. She also has participated on the National Task Force on Election Crises alongside other left-of-center election policy advocates. ^{1 2 3}

Background

Mary McCord attended law school at Georgetown University and subsequently clerked for Judge Thomas Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. At the beginning of her legal career, McCord spent nearly 20 years as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, D.C, where she was ultimately the chief of the office’s criminal division. In 2014, she joined the Obama administration as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security, making her the number-two official in the division focusing on international and domestic terror threats and other national security issues. She was promoted to the position of Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security during the final months of the Obama administration. ^{4 5}

Following her government service, McCord joined the Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP), a left-of-center academic center at the law school that engages in legal cases on First and Second Amendment issues, among others. McCord took over leadership of the center after its previous executive director, Joshua Geitzer, became the deputy homeland security advisor in the Biden administration. Much of McCord’s work at the center has been leading opposition to unlawful militias, stating that the second amendment affords no protection to private “militias.” ⁶

McCord was appointed by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to the U.S. House of Representatives Task Force 1-6 Capitol Security Review following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. She had also been appointed to the Columbus Police After Action Review Team tasked with evaluating how the Columbus, Ohio, Police Department responded to the 2020 summer protests. ⁷

McCord has repeatedly decried “right-wing extremism” as a form a domestic terrorism. She also has blamed former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric for inciting violence during the January 6 protest. ⁸

National Task Force on Election Crises

Mary McCord also sits on the National Task Force on Election Crises, an organization that promotes left-of-center election administration policies and is also comprised of representatives from left-of-center groups including the Democracy Fund, Common Cause, and the Center for Tech and Civic Life. ^{9 10}

1. Members.” National Task Force on Election Crises.” Accessed May 5, 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members
2. “Elizabeth Goitein.” Brennan Center for Justice. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://www.brennancenter.org/experts/elizabeth-goitein
3. “Mary McCord.” Georgetown University Law Center.” Accessed May 5, 2022. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/mary-mccord/
4. “2021 Annual Report.” Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. Accessed May 5, 2022.  https://www.law.georgetown.edu/icap/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2021/08/ICAP-2021-Annual-Report.pdf
5. “Mary McCord.” Georgetown University Law Center.” Accessed May 5, 2022. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/mary-mccord/
6. “2021 Annual Report.” Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. Accessed May 5, 2022.  https://www.law.georgetown.edu/icap/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2021/08/ICAP-2021-Annual-Report.pdf
7. Alexander, Audrey and Hummel, Kristina. “A View from the CT Foxhole: Mary McCord, Executive Director, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, Georgetown University Law Center.” March 2021. Accessed May 5, 2022.  https://ctc.usma.edu/a-view-from-the-ct-foxhole-mary-mccord-executive-director-institute-for-constitutional-advocacy-and-protection-georgetown-university-law-center/
8. Alexander, Audrey and Hummel, Kristina. “A View from the CT Foxhole: Mary McCord, Executive Director, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, Georgetown University Law Center.” March 2021. Accessed May 5, 2022.  https://ctc.usma.edu/a-view-from-the-ct-foxhole-mary-mccord-executive-director-institute-for-constitutional-advocacy-and-protection-georgetown-university-law-center/
9. “Members.” National Task Force on Election Crises.” Accessed May 5, 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members
10. “About.” National Task Force on Election Crises.” Accessed May 5, 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/about