John F. Kirby (born June 3, 1963) is a retired United States Navy rear admiral serving as White House National Security Communications Advisor since 2024. He previously served in the Biden administration as Pentagon Press Secretary and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs from 2021 to 2022 and as Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House from 2022 to 2024. He worked as a military and diplomatic analyst for CNN from 2017 to 2021. He served in the Obama administration as Pentagon Press Secretary from 2013 to 2015 and as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs from 2015 to 2017. Early life and education Kirby was born on June 3, 1963, and grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is a 1981 graduate of Saint Petersburg Catholic High School, and a 1985 graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He holds a Master of Science degree in international relations from Troy University...