McCarthy, Buttigieg Named Visiting Fellows at Harvard Kennedy School

Former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg ’04 will serve as visiting fellows at the Institute of Politics this spring.

The visiting fellows will be joined by six resident fellows, announced in a Wednesday press release.

Two are former members of U.S. presidential administrations: Chris Liddell, former deputy chief of staff in the first Trump administration, and Rohit Chopra ’04, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the Biden administration.

They will also be joined by Chrystia Freeland ’90, former deputy prime minister and minister of finance of Canada and an economic advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; Aimee Rogstad Guidera, former secretary of education in Virginia; Tishaura O. Jones, former mayor of St. Louis, Missouri; and Byron York, chief political correspondent at the Washington Examiner and a Fox News contributor.

Resident fellows will facilitate eight-week study groups during the spring semester, drawing on a range of experiences stretching from consumer protection and national politics to municipal government to international relations.

Buttigieg, a former IOP Student Advisory Board president, wrote in the press release that he is eager to return to the IOP and engage students on the importance of public service at what he described as a pivotal moment for American democracy.

“Empowering young people to participate in politics has never mattered more,” he said.

Chopra said he plans to focus on the role of corporate power and regulation in shaping the U.S. economy.

“Corporate and financial interests don’t just play a major role in shaping our daily lives, they also exert significant influence over our government,” he wrote.

Freeland said she looked forward to working with students on global economic and democratic challenges, drawing on her experience working in Canadian politics.

“I have seen firsthand the transformative power of students and young people committed to building a better world,” she wrote.

Other fellows struck more broad themes. Guidera said her fellowship will center on education policy and leadership across the public and nonprofit sectors, while Jones said she hopes to bring lessons from local government into conversation with students, particularly around democracy and inclusive leadership.

York, who has reported on five presidential administrations, said the fellowship offers an opportunity to step back from daily political coverage and reflect on the forces shaping contemporary American politics.

IOP Interim Co-Directors Beth Myers and Ned Price celebrated the fellows’ backgrounds and experiences in the release.

"Their experience and insight will foster timely and consequential conversations, inspire our students to pursue careers in public service, and help prepare and propel the next generation to leadership roles in the United States and around the world,” they wrote.

Anoushka Lal ’28 and Samantha Ruazol ’27, who chair the Fellows and Study Groups Program, wrote that the spring 2026 cohort reflects the IOP’s commitment to fostering meaningful, cross-partisan dialogue and civic engagement.

“The cross-partisan conversations and relationships fostered through this program exemplify the kind of rigorous, constructive civic engagement we hope will take deeper root nationwide,” they wrote.

Buttigieg will also join the Center of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School as a Hauser Leader this spring, a program that brings public leaders to campus to engage with students through teaching, advising, and public programming.

The Spring 2026 Hauser Leaders cohort also includes John Anzalone, founder of Impact Research; Anita Dunn, former senior advisor under the Biden administration; David Lebryk ’83, former fiscal assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury; Deval Patrick ’78, former governor of Massachusetts; and Paul Ryan, the former Speaker of the House.

—Staff writer Jen L. Phan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @jenllphan.

—Staff writer Sophia E. Alcacer can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @sophiaalcacer and Signal at sophiaalcacer.88.