 Since October 21, 2019, Dr. Ford has, by delegation from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, performed the duties of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.He previously served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Weapons of Mass Destruction and Counterproliferation on the United States National Security Council staff, and as a senior U.S. State Department official in the George W. Bush Administration, working on issues of nuclear proliferation and arms control verification and compliance policy.A longtime Senate staffer before returning to the Executive Branch, Ford is a lawyer by training and served for years as an officer in the United States Navy Reserve.