Who We Are

Originally from Nevada, Braden most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In that role, Braden advised Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on House and Senate Congressional affairs involving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), among other HHS Operating Divisions. In this capacity, he also served as a strategic advisor and guide for several HHS Presidential nominees throughout the Senate confirmation process.

Before being recruited to HHS, Braden served as Senior Policy Advisor at the House Budget Committee under Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX), where he was the principal health policy advisor for Chairman Arrington and the Committee’s Republican Members. He was instrumental in working with the Congressional Budget Office to design budget reconciliation instructions that shaped health care policies ultimately included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21). Braden previously served as Senior Legislative Assistant to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), advising on healthcare, homeland security, as well as science and technology issues. He successfully fought to secure increased funding and policies to incentivize novel treatments for rare diseases.

Braden holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis, and a master’s degree from the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy.

In the summer of 2026, Braden joined Miller Strategies as a Principal.