Samantha Goldstein, once a lawyer for Kamala Harris and later for Biden’s National Security Council, has joined the Department of Defense—despite having co‑authored an op‑ed that called Donald Trump “unfit to hold office.”
Goldstein transitioned into a government career position in 2023, moving from senior counsel in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy to attorney‑advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel. She departed the DOJ in July 2024, served as deputy legal advisor on Biden’s National Security Council, and in February 2025 became associate deputy general counsel at the Defense Department.
Goldstein clerked for appellate courts in both the Eighth Circuit and D.C. before joining the left‑leaning NAACP Legal Defense Fund in 2016. In 2018, she worked as special counsel to then‑Senator Harris before joining private practice at O’Melveny & Myers.
During her time at O’Melveny, Goldstein co‑authored a Washington Post op‑ed with Walter Dellinger, accusing Trump of undermining American democracy and saying the Mueller report showed he violated fundamental constitutional duties. They concluded Trump was “unfit to hold office”.
