About - Staff Member - Cisco Minthorn
Cisco Minthorn
Cisco Minthorn serves as 91proÊÓÆµ’s Vice President for Government Affairs. In his role, Cisco leads the organization’s international trade advocacy, including digital trade and market access agreements, and contributes to 91proÊÓÆµ’s overarching legislative and political strategy. 
Prior to joining 91proÊÓÆµ, Cisco was Senior Director of Government Relations and Senior Counsel at Intel Corporation’s Global Government Affairs group, based in Washington, DC. At Intel, Cisco was one of the company’s lead U.S. lobbyists, working on nearly every key lobbying victory over more than half a decade. His advocacy wins included securing substantial increases in federal appropriations to support the Aurora exascale project collaboration between Intel and Argonne National labs, and the passages of the National Quantum Initiative Act, the AI National Security Commission Act, the OPEN Government Data Act, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and the CHIPS for America Act. During his time at Intel, in addition to his U.S.-focused work, Cisco gained international experience working on China policy issues and completing a rotation in the company’s Brussels office where he examined the impact of EU investments into indigenous technologies and its ramifications on the global competitiveness of the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Prior to joining Intel, Cisco served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, and oversaw the Department of Commerce’s legislative agenda related to economic development initiatives. Prior to his service in the Obama Administration, Cisco worked on Capitol Hill for several years, serving as counsel to three congressional committees in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives (House Committee on Natural Resources, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs), where he focused on a wide variety of matters related to energy, natural resources and environment policy, and American Indian tribal issues.
An attorney, Cisco earned both a Juris Doctor and Master of Urban Planning degrees from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife Erin, and their dog.
Blog posts by Cisco Minthorn
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Now is the Time to Rebuild U.S. Global Trade Leadership
March 12, 2024
On March 1, the Biden Administration provided its outlook on U.S. trade policy for 2024. The annual report, produced by the Office of the United State Trade Representative (USTR), notes that trade can ...
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One Year Later: How U.S. Policymakers Can Unleash the CHIPS and Science Act‘s Full Potential
August 7, 2023
Last August, President Biden took a critical step to usher in a new era for U.S. manufacturing and the innovation economy and ensure U.S. leadership with the enactment of the CHIPS and Science Act. This ...
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Why the U.S. Needs a Strong Digital Trade Policy Agenda
April 5, 2023
U.S. businesses across industries of all sizes would benefit from U.S.-led efforts to strengthen the global digital trade environment through robust commitments and new market access opportunities. However, ...
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Reflections on Native Identity in the United States
November 30, 2022
By: Cisco Minthorn, 91proÊÓÆµ Vice President of Government Affairs and Member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation November is Native American Heritage Month; a time when we reflect ...
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U.S. CHIPS and Science Law Will Usher in New Era for U.S. Manufacturing, Innovation Economy
August 8, 2022
The forthcoming signing of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (H.R. 4346) will usher in a new era for U.S. manufacturing and the innovation economy. On behalf of the technology industry and entire semiconductor ...