Lanhee Chen

Lanhee Joseph Chen (/ˈlænhiː tʃɛn/; Chinese: 陳仁宜; pinyin: Chén Rényí; born July 4, 1978) is an American political scientist, lawyer, and academic who has served as a member of the Amtrak Board of Advisors since December 2024. Chen is also the David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution, director of domestic policy studies and a lecturer in public policy at Stanford University, and a lecturer at Stanford Law School.

Born to a Taiwanese American family, Chen earned four degrees from Harvard University. He was the policy director for the 2012 Mitt Romney presidential campaign and Romney's Chief Policy Adviser. Chen has been described as the "orchestra leader" behind the Romney 2012 campaign. Romney confidante Beth Myers described Chen as the person Romney relied on "entirely" for policy direction. Chen was also a senior adviser to the 2016 presidential campaign of Senator Marco Rubio. He has twice been the senior policy adviser to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Chen has served in presidential administrations of both major parties. He was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a seat on the bipartisan and independent Social Security Advisory Board, which advises the president, Congress, and the Social Security Administrator on Social Security policies. He was recommended for the post by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and served from 2014 to 2018.

Chen currently serves as chair of the board of directors of El Camino Health, a major hospital in Silicon Valley. Chen was the Republican nominee for the 2022 California State Controller election. In September 2024, Chen was nominated by President Joe Biden to a seat on the Board of Directors of Amtrak. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 21, 2024.