Commissioner Bio
Diem Salmon
Appointed by the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader
Ms. Diem Salmon is currently a Senior Director at Anduril Industries, a defense technology company, where she leads growth efforts for autonomy solutions. She is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for New American Security (CNAS). Salmon has worked in the national security field for over 15 years, including the private sector, non-profit, and Congress, with a specific emphasis on defense budgets and requirements.
Previously, Salmon was the Budget Director and Deputy Policy Director for the United States Senate Armed Services Committee. While there, she worked on five annual National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs) and navigated the committee and NDAAs through three separate budget deals. Her work at the committee included advocating for higher defense budgets, including the increase for FY 2018 and FY 2019, as well as a myriad of provisions aimed at realigning the Department of Defense spending with the National Defense Strategy. Salmon was also previously a Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation and worked at the Avascent Group, a management and strategy consulting firm.
Salmon holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Irvine and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) with a concentration in International Economics and Strategic Studies.