Daniel De Varona Brennan

DPhil Research Topic

Daniel De Varona Brennan is a DPhil Candidate in History at Oriel College. His dissertation, "Honorable Men and Rogue Elephants: The Origins and Implications of Congressional Oversight of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency," examines the emergence and evolution of U.S. congressional oversight of intelligence during the Cold War. His interests span broad issues of domestic politics and national security, and the role of Congress in national security decision-making. Currently, he works in Washington D.C. as a Predoctoral Fellow with the America in the World Consortium at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs within Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Daniel's work has earned the support of the Hawai`i Congressional Papers Center at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, the Dirksen Congressional Center, and the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress

Daniel holds an MPhil in the History of War from the University of Oxford, and a BA in Diplomatic History and Political Theory from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was awarded a Thouron Scholarship in 2020. Before joining SAIS, Daniel served as a Welfare Dean and Head Rowing Coach at Oriel College.

Supervisor: Adam Smith and Rana Mitter