Amos Hochstein | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Hochstein in 2024 | |
| Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Adviser for Energy and Investment | |
| In office 2022 – January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Senior Advisor for Energy Security | |
| In office August 10, 2021 – January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| United States Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs | |
| In office August 1, 2014 – January 20, 2017 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Carlos Pascual |
| Succeeded by | Francis R. Fannon(Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1973-01-04)January 4, 1973 (age 52) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Julie Rae Ringel |
| Children | 4 |
| Occupation |
|
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Israel Defense Forces |
| Unit | Armored Corps |
Amos J. Hochstein[1] (born January 4, 1973) is an American businessman, diplomat, and former lobbyist. He was a top national and economic security official in theBiden administration.[2][3] Hochstein has worked in the U.S. Congress, has testified before congressional panels[2] and has served in theBarack Obama administration underSecretaries of StateClinton andKerry. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in 2011 and as Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs in 2013. In 2015,President Barack Obama nominated Hochstein to be theAssistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources butthe Senate did not act on the nomination. While at theState Department, Hochstein worked as a close advisor toVice President Biden.[4] He served in the administration from 2011 to 2017.[5]
In March 2017, he joinedTellurian, a privateHouston-basedLNG company, where he served as senior vice president marketing until his departure in September 2020.[6] He serves on the boards of theAtlantic Council and U.S.-India Business Council. Hochstein is a former member of the supervisory board of UkrainianNaftogaz, from which he resigned in October 2020[7] by writing an opinion piece[8] that highlighted the return of sabotage in the form of corrupt forces.
On August 10, 2021,United States Secretary of StateAntony Blinken announced that he would be appointing Hochstein as the senior advisor for energy security, and he was subsequently appointed special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security.[9][10][11] He also led Biden's Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, and advised the president on AI policy and infrastructure.[12][13][14]
In March 2025, Hochstein became a managing partner at the investment firmTWG Global to bring his experience developing energy and infrastructure to support the company'sartificial intelligence investments.[13]
Hochstein was born inJerusalem, the child ofAmerican Jewish immigrants to Israel. He studied at Yeshivat Netiv Meir High School and theHartman Institute in Jerusalem.[15] He served in theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF)Armored Corps. Following his service, he left Israel and moved to New York City to work atBankers Trust. While Hochstein's immediate family continue to live in Israel, he does not maintaindual citizenship.[16][17][18]
Hochstein was a foreign policy adviser toDemocratic Party members of the U.S. government House Foreign Affairs Committee from 1994 to January 2001.[19][20][21]
He is married to Julie Rae Ringel; they have four children together[22] and live in Washington D.C. His wife works for the Georgetown University Continuing Education School in the executive leadership coaching program.[23] He identifies as aModern Orthodox Jew.[24]
Hochstein became a managing partner at TWG Global in March 2025. In his role he will support the investment strategy into energy and infrastructure as part of the firm's larger plans for AI growth and partnerships.[13]
On Capitol Hill, Hochstein first served on theU.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs staff from 1994.[25] In subsequent years he served in a variety of senior level positions, including theHouse International Relations Committee,[26] where he served as Senior Policy Advisor.[27] In 1997, he was sent toNorth Korea to report on the country's economic and military status as well as the progress and opportunities for humanitarian aid efforts.[28]
Later, Hochstein served as the Senior Policy Advisor to theForeign Affairs Committee of theU.S. House of Representatives. Hochstein first served as the principal Democratic staff person on theEconomic Policy, Trade & Environment Subcommittee where he oversaw work authorizingEx-Im Bank,OPIC andUSTDA, as well as drafting legislation on export controls and trade-related multilateral organizations and regimes.[citation needed]
Hochstein also worked as a Senior Policy Advisor to then-GovernorMark Warner, and later as Policy Director for SenatorChris Dodd.[1] He joined Dodd's team in the beginning of 2007 and was the Policy Director during his2008 Presidential campaign.[29][30]
Hochstein was also an aide to RepresentativeSam Gejdenson.[22] During his time onCapitol Hill, Hochstein travelled to Iraq and was involved in U.S. back-channel diplomatic discussions to potentially liftU.S. economic sanctions in exchange for the potential resettlement of several thousandPalestinian refugees in Central Iraq. Hochstein argued that the economic sanctions had to be maintained while conceding that it was necessary to "humanise" those sanctions.[31]
Hochstein later moved to theprivate sector as Executive Vice President of International Operations atCassidy & Associates.[32] Throughout his career, he was a counselor and lobbyist for both domestic and international oil and gas companies, as well as companies focusing on renewable energy. In this capacity, he assisted corporations in assessing potential new markets and the development of alternative sources of power.[1]
While working at Cassidy & Associates, Hochstein also worked on the account of the president of Equatorial Guinea,Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Africa's longest-serving dictator,[33] to improve the relationship with the United States. In his bookPrivate Empire:ExxonMobil and American Power, two-timePulitzer Prize winnerSteve Coll recounts, that while Hochstein initially was uncomfortable with the Equatorial Guinea account,[34] he assisted in the development of a "road map" of political changes together with theU.S. National Security Council, that Equatorial Guinea would have to implement in order to display their political sincerity to change and to improve relations with the United States. The outlines involved prisoner releases, substantial public investments in health care and education and Hochstein coordinated the communication of these points with and between Equatorial Guinea's leadership and the State Department.[35] Hochstein and others, among them Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice andPaul Wolfowitz, said they were convinced by Obiang's will to change and adapt. Equatorial Guinea under the Obiang regime remains by many accounts one of the world's least free countries.[36] Hochstein defended the Obiang regime in an interview with theWashington Post.[37] He stated that the development and support of the democratic process in countries like Equatorial Guinea must be supported and that Western states cannot expect changes of long-standing political realities overnight.[38][39] Eventually Hochstein resigned from the lobbying account but continued to work for Cassidy until 2006.[40]
Hochstein began working at theU.S. Department of State in 2011, joining the newly formedBureau of Energy Resources.[41] Serving as deputy to Special EnvoyCarlos Pascual, Hochstein worked to helpUkraine find new supplies ofnatural gas in the wake of the2014 Russian occupation of Crimea.[42]
He oversaw the Office of Middle East, Asia and Europe, the Western Hemisphere and Africa. Hochstein led the energy related diplomacy efforts.[5]
On August 1, 2014, Hochstein succeededCarlos Pascual[43] as acting Special Envoy and Coordinator of International Energy Affairs, and was permanently appointed to the position later in the year[42] by Secretary Kerry.[5] As the Special Envoy, Hochstein oversaw the Bureau of Energy Resources and advisedSecretary of StateJohn Kerry on global energy security and diplomacy, as well as integration of renewable and clean energy and related security matters. He also worked closely with officials at the White House's National Security Council and other government agencies.[44]
In his capacity as the U.S.'s Chief Energy Diplomat, Hochstein had an important role in shaping foreign energy and security policy[45] and worked closely with[46] U.S. Vice PresidentJoe Biden, accompanying him on international travel and advancing energy as a key U.S. foreign policy tool. Hochstein and Biden worked together on the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative, Central America Energy Security Task Force, Cyprus and East Mediterranean, as well as securing Ukraine and Europe from Russian energy dominance.[citation needed]
Hochstein encouraged European countries to find new oil, gas, coal, and nuclear sources, to alleviate their dependence onRussian energy.[47] In response to PresidentVladimir Putin's plans for new gas pipelines, includingNord Stream 2 via the Baltic Sea andTurkStream via the Black Sea, to bypass an existing transit coordinator throughUkraine towardsGreece,Italy andGermany, Hochstein described the plans as "political projects that have questionable economic value" to the European energy market.[48] He has also stated that the U.S.'s position isn't to exclude Russia from the European market entirely, but rather that Russia should be an equal player, remarking that "European countries should be able to choose their supplier and force their suppliers to compete for their business. That is what is good for energy security of Europe, economic security and ultimately for the national security of those countries involved."[48][49] In November 2021, he accused Russia of taking advantage of theEuropean energy crisis and making no effort to alleviate the situation.[50]
Hochstein has also been involved in the U.S. front against theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant, specifically cutting their oil revenues by disrupting their production lines.[51] Hochstein oversaw the U.S. efforts to cripple Islamic State's energy business by weakening oil trade between ISIS, the Syrian government and other parties.[52] His team coordinated with theU.S. Department of Defense to determine targets.[53] Airstrikes subsequently blew up over 1,000 tanker trucks and other key targets.[54][55] In a testimony before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee, Hochstein described the military actions as "not only more bombings, but a different kind of bombing."[42]
Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu cited Hochstein's work as helping to provide an incentive for the renewed relationship between Israel and Turkey.[56] This followed his work to revive efforts to settle maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel.[57] At the conclusion of his visit, Hochstein made statements stressing his visit was to discuss delayed gas exploration in Lebanon.[58] In October 2022, he managed to negotiate a maritime deal between Lebanon and Israel following months of negotiations, settling theIsraeli–Lebanese maritime border dispute. Previous to that in 2014, Hochstein helped “pave the way” for the $500 million natural gas agreement between Israel and Jordan[59] visiting Jordan 14 times and was, alongside Israel's former presidentShimon Peres, a "key broker" for the gas export deal.[60] This agreement concluded an effort that Secretary of State Clinton began in 2011.[61]
In response to Russian officials claiming that theTurkish government was illegally buying oil from the Islamic State, Hochstein dismissed these claims, saying that "I do not believe there is significant smuggling between ISIL-controlled areas and Turkey of oil of any significant volume."[62]
Hochstein has also worked on multilateral energy affairs, meeting withUrban Rusnák, Secretary-General of theEnergy Charter Conference, to discuss progress on the Energy Charter Process,[63] discussing the advance of clean energy investments and energy security with government officials inIndia[64] and meeting several other state leaders and government officials to coordinate energy and security matters with states likeAzerbaijan andSaudi Arabia and other states in the Middle East.[65][66]
On October 8, 2015, PresidentBarack Obama nominated Hochstein to be theassistant secretary of state for energy resources, the official chief position for the bureau.[67][68] Hochstein continued his efforts in all previously engaged fields of national and international energy and security matters,[69] includingsanctions against Iran,[70][71] energy opportunities inLatin America,[72] the U.S.-India energy cooperation,[73] the U.S.-China energy cooperation, the administration's strategy on Russia,[74] and the fight against ISIS.[75]
He also was involved in discussing and mapping out details of theSouthern Gas Corridor project generally[75] and theTrans Adriatic Pipeline withGreece specifically.[76]
He authored the White House Caribbean Energy Security Initiative and chaired President Obama's U.S.-Caribbean and U.S.-Central America Energy Security Task Force. He also continued to lead U.S. efforts to promote global fuel switching tonatural gas and develop stronger natural gas markets in Asia and South Asia.[75] He headed the State Department's Unconventional Gas Technical Engagement Program, formerly known as GlobalShale Gas Initiative.[77]
He was succeeded byFrank R. Fannon, now Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources.[78]
Since leaving the White House, Hochstein appeared on a Trump White House panel promoting the use of natural gas and LNGfossil fuels at the 2016 Bonn Climate Change Conference.[79]
In 2017 Hochstein joinedTellurian, a private LNG-gas company, as EVP of Marketing,[80] from which he resigned in September 2020.[6]
Per a US State Department Spokesperson, Hochstein "is not a dual national." The State Department declined to comment on whether Hochstein formerly held Israeli citizenship and renounced it, a practice that dual citizens sometimes engage in in order to take on more sensitive positions in the US government.[16] According to the Washington Post, Hochstein is a close aide of PresidentJoe Biden.[81] Former U.S. State Department official David Goldwyn said that Hochstein acts as “the person who bridges State, Treasury, the White House and Energy.”[82] In June 2022, The Washington Post reported that Hochstein was serving as President Biden's top energy advisor, or “energy whisperer,” in both domestic and international energy issues. In 2022, Hochstein "helped shape" the White House effort to reduce gas prices during the height of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[81] and throughout 2022 often traveled with Biden to overseas meetings.[82]
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Visiting Lebanon in late 2022, Hochstein was lead negotiator of a maritime deal between Lebanon and Israel meant to "pave the way for offshore gas exploration."[81] The deal resolved a decades-long dispute between Israel and Lebanon surrounding the two countries' maritime border and the gas fields located there.[83] WithU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling the agreement "historic,"[84] Israeli prime ministerYair Lapid tweeted: "On behalf of the State of Israel, I thank American mediator @AmosHochstein for his hard work to bring about this historic agreement."[85]
Hochstein served as Biden's special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security until 2023 when he moved to the White House as deputy assistant to the president and senior advisor for energy and investment.[3] He also leads Biden's Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, which launched at the 2022 G7 summit with the aim of coordinating the international supply chain of clean energy.[12]
During theIsrael–Hezbollah conflict, Hochstein made multiple trips to Lebanon as a special U.S. envoy in order to negotiate a resolution to the conflict. His strategy was to pushHezbollah to pressureHamas into accepting a ceasefire agreement to end theGaza war. In the case Israel and Hamas were to reach such a deal, Hezbollah had promised to in turn end its attacks on Israel.[86]
On 17 and 18 September 2024, thousands of handheldpagers andwalkie-talkies used byHezbollah simultaneouslyexploded across Lebanon and Syria.[87] The attack came just a day after Hochstein visited Israel and warned Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu against provoking a majorescalation in Lebanon.[88]
Hochstein seesrenewable energies as very important and being at the center of both the future's energy market and U.S.energy policy. He is of the opinion that the realistic transition into a fully renewable resourcedenergy mix will take some time and that the use of cleaner resources (e.g.LNG to replaceheavy crude oils) for this transition period is crucial to sustain economic developments and growth. Hochstein said: "Here in Washington, I think we are the last city on the planet…where we still talk aboutfossil fuel versus renewables as some kind of zero-sum game […] It is not one or the other. It is going to have to be both because we are going to need the baseload and we are going to need the fuels that will transition us to the future."[89]
At the 2015 Renewable Energy Transition event hosted by theInternational Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and theAtlantic Council's Global Energy Center, Hochstein stated that "unlike oil and gas, the technological advances we’re seeing in renewables are making them cheaper and better."[90] He further said: "U.S.energy security, energy sustainability and climate objectives are mutually reinforcing. As such, we are working to promoteenergy efficiency, conservation and transformation of energy systems. We are encouraging market reforms, such as the elimination offossil fuel subsidies, that can addressoverall energy demand."[91]
Hochstein has been interviewed by national and international media, commenting on national and international energy policy, energy security, and foreign policy.[92][93][94][95] Due to environmental and economic considerations, the Biden administration and the subject have opposed the proposedEastMed pipeline in favor of an Egyptian route.[96]
Hochstein is a former member of the board of theAtlantic Council[97] and the U.S.-Indian Business Council.[98]
Hochstein is a former member of the supervisory board of theUkrainian energy companyNaftogaz.[99] He was appointed in 2017 and resigned in October 2020 claiming that the Ukrainian government was returning tocorrupted practices vis-a-vis the company.[100]
In October 2019 Hochstein was mentioned by former U.S. officials in relation to theTrump–Ukraine scandal. It was reported that as early as May 2019 Hochstein alerted the National Security Council staff thatRudy Giuliani andGordon Sondland's pressure tactics were rattlingUkrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelensky.[101] It was also reported thatRick Perry planned to have Hochstein replaced as a member of the board atNaftogaz with someone aligned with Republican interests. Perry denied the reports.[102][103]
Amos Hochstein, 32, a former congressional staffer who now works for Cassidy & Associates, a political and governmental relations firm in Washington, said, "It was a remarkable moment that I could never expect as a modern Orthodox Jew who is also active in American politics."
Hochstein.
Hochstein.
Hochstein.
A permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas would likely forestall a war in Lebanon: Hezbollah remains committed to halting hostilities if Israel strikes a cease-fire agreement with Hamas in Gaza. And amid the long war there and increasing tensions in the West Bank, Israel would likely prefer a diplomatic resolution to the tensions on its northern border. A special U.S. envoy, Amos Hochstein, has made a half dozen trips to Lebanon since October to try to negotiate an end to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. His game plan has been to ask Hezbollah to pressure Hamas to accept a cease-fire to break the region's deadlock.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs 2014–2017 | Succeeded byas Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources |