Amos Hochstein

In October 2019 Hochstein was mentioned by former U.S. officials in relation to the Trump–Ukraine scandal. It was reported that as early as May 2019 Hochstein alerted the National Security Council staff that Rudy Giuliani and Gordon Sondland's pressure tactics were rattling Ukraine president Zelenskiy. It was also reported that Rick Perry planned to have Hochstein replaced as a member of the board at Naftogaz with someone aligned with Republican interests. Perry denied the reports.

Hochstein’s energy diplomacy efforts in the Middle East have been critical. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited Hochstein’s work as helping to provide an incentive for the renewed relationship between Israel and Turkey. This followed his work to revive efforts to settle maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel. At the conclusion of his visit, Hochstein made statements stressing his visit was to discuss delayed gas exploration in Lebanon. The previous year, 2014, Hochstein helped “pave the way” for the $500 million natural gas agreement between Israel and Jordan visiting Jordan 14 times and was, alongside Israel’s former President Shimon Peres, a "key broker" for the gas export deal. This agreement concluded an effort that Secretary of State Clinton began in 2011.

Hochstein is married to Julie Rae Ringel. They have four children and live in Washington D.C. His wife is an executive coach and faculty member for the Georgetown University’s Certificate in Leadership Coaching program. She is the founding director of the "Art of Facilitation" program at Georgetown University's Institute for Transformational Leadership and the founding president of The Ringel Group.

In March 2017, he joined Tellurian, a private Houston-based LNG company, where he serves as Senior Vice President Marketing. He serves on the supervisory board of Ukrainian Naftogaz as well as the boards of the Atlantic Council and U.S.-India Business Council.

In 2017 Hochstein joined Tellurian, a private LNG-gas company and today serves as SVP of Marketing.

Since leaving the White House, Hochstein appeared on a Trump White House panel promoting the use of fossil fuels at the 2016 Bonn Climate Change Conference.

On October 8, 2015, President Barack Obama nominated Hochstein to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, the official chief position for the bureau. Hochstein continued his efforts in all previously engaged fields of national and international energy and security matters, including Iran sanctions, energy opportunities in Latin America, the US-India energy cooperation, the US-China energy cooperation, the administration’s strategy on Russia, and the fight against ISIS.

At the 2015 Renewable Energy Transition event hosted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center, Hochstein stated that "unlike oil and gas, the technological advances we’re seeing in renewables are making them cheaper and better." He further said: "U.S. energy security, energy sustainability and climate objectives are mutually reinforcing. As such, we are working to promote energy efficiency, conservation and transformation of energy systems. We are encouraging market reforms, such as the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, that can address overall energy demand."

On August 1, 2014, Hochstein succeeded Carlos Pascual as acting Special Envoy and Coordinator of International Energy Affairs, and was permanently appointed to the position later in the year by Secretary Kerry. As the Special Envoy, Hochstein oversaw the Bureau of Energy Resources and advised Secretary of State John Kerry on global energy security and diplomacy, as well as integration of renewable and clean energy and related security matters. He also worked closely with officials at the White House's National Security Council and other government agencies.

While at the State Department, Hochstein worked as a close advisor to Vice-President Joe Biden. He served in the administration from 2011 to 2017.

Hochstein began working at the U.S. Department of State in 2011, joining the newly formed Bureau of Energy Resources. Serving as deputy to Special Envoy Carlos Pascual, Hochstein worked to help Ukraine find new supplies of natural gas in the wake of the 2014 Russian invasion.

Hochstein also worked as a Senior Policy Advisor to then-Governor Mark Warner, and later as Policy Director for Senator Chris Dodd. He joined Dodd's team in the beginning of 2007 and was the Policy Director during his 2008 Presidential campaign.

While working at Cassidy & Associates, Hochstein also worked on the account of the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Africa's longest serving dictator, to improve the relationship with the United States. In his book "Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power", two times Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Coll recounts, that while Hochstein initially was uncomfortable with the Equatorial Guinea account, he assisted in the development of a "road map" of political changes together with the U.S. National Security Council, that Equatorial Guinea would have to implement in order to display their political sincerity to change and to improve relations with the United States. The outlines involved prisoner releases, substantial public investments in health care and education and Hochstein coordinated the communication of these points with and between Equatorial Guinea's leadership and the State Department. Hochstein and others, among them Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Paul Wolfowitz, said they were convinced by Obiang's will to change and adapt. Equatorial Guinea under the Obiang regime remains by many accounts one of the world's least free countries. Hochstein defended the Obiang regime in an interview with the Washington Post. He stated that the development and support of the democratic process in countries like Equatorial Guinea must be supported and that Western states cannot expect changes of long-standing political realities overnight. Eventually Hochstein resigned from the lobbying account but continued to work for Cassidy until 2006.

Hochstein began his career in Washington, D.C. on Capitol Hill where he first served on the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs staff. In subsequent years he served in a variety of senior level positions, including the House International Relations Committee, where he served as Senior Policy Advisor. In 1997 he later was sent to North Korea to report on the country's economic and military status as well as the progress and opportunities for humanitarian relief efforts.

Amos J. Hochstein (born January 4, 1973) is a U.S. businessman, former diplomat, lobbyist, and national security and energy expert. He has worked in the U.S. Congress, has testified before congressional panels and has served in the Barack Obama administration under Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in 2011 and as Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs. In 2015, President Barack Obama nominated Hochstein to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources but the Senate did not act on the nomination.