Paul Arcangeli is the Majority Staff Director for the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Armed Services. A public servant of more than three decades, Paul has served in the United States Army, as a Department of Defense civilian and as a professional staffer to the House of Representatives.  

For the past 11 years, Paul has served as the Staff Director of the House Armed Services Committee where he is the primary advisor to the Committee Chairman, the 31 majority members of the Committee and the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives. He leads the Committee’s staff in their oversight of the Department of Defense and directs the preparation of the annual National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA provides direction to the Department of Defense on all fiscal and policy matters within the department. It authorizes in excess of $700 billion annually, which funds all operations and acquisition for the United States military. The NDAA provides policy direction across the entirety of the Department of Defense in matters including military operations, personnel, acquisition of weapon systems, nuclear weapons, space policy, military construction, training and maintenance.   

Paul joined the Armed Services Committee staff in 2004 as a professional staff member serving as the staff lead for the Readiness Subcommittee and as the deputy staff director for the committee before rising to staff director in 2010.  He has worked on 17 NDAAs including shepherding the fiscal year 2021 NDAA to the only veto override in the bill’s 60-year history. During his tenure with Congress, Paul has worked on a wide range of national security policy issues advising the Speaker, the Leader, committee chairs and hundreds of members of the House and Senate on defense policy and legislation.   

Prior to his service with the Committee, Paul served as the Director of the Department of Defense Humanitarian Demining Training Center. There, he and his staff trained special operations personnel to establish demining training programs in 43 countries. He traveled extensively to landmine affected countries in support of this training and was a recognized expert on landmines within the Department of Defense.  

Paul acquired his knowledge of landmines during his service as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the United States Army. He served in Hawaii, Alaska, California and New York in a variety of roles including explosive ordnance disposal, information technology and as an ordnance officer.  

Paul holds a master’s degree in Information Technology and Management from the United States Naval Post-Graduate School and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of North Georgia.   At North Georgia, he was a Georgia Military Scholarship recipient and a distinguished military graduate.  He is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.