John Lucio Joins Brownstein’s Defense and National Security Team

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is expanding its defense and national security capabilities with the addition of John Lucio, who joins the firm’s Government Relations Department as of counsel in the Washington, D.C., office.

“John brings decades of national security and defense appropriations expertise, strengthening the strategic guidance we provide to clients in one of the federal government’s most consequential sectors,” said Nadeam Elshami, co-chair of Brownstein’s Government Relations Department. “His time as a senior advisor to the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and as a professional staff member of the Defense Subcommittee, combined with his industry experience, will help clients advance mission‑critical programs.”

Lucio brings a distinctive combination of defense appropriations expertise, national security leadership and major acquisition experience to his government relations work. Over more than two decades in federal service, he has shaped funding for critical military programs, advised senior leaders on high‑stakes policy decisions and steered complex national security initiatives involving Congress, the Pentagon and the defense industry.

His federal career includes over half a decade on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee under Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), where he drafted annual spending legislation and oversaw portfolios spanning shipbuilding and ground systems to advanced research and defense‑wide procurement. Before moving to Capitol Hill, he spent more than a decade with the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, serving as a senior advisor to the four‑star director and leading negotiations for more than $35 billion in submarine and strategic deterrent contracts. His experience is further grounded by operational naval deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. John also served in the United States Air Force, supporting combat aviation, as well as training and readiness programs.

In the private sector, Lucio guided defense and advanced‑energy clients through congressional strategy, authorization and appropriations cycles, and engagement with the executive branch. At BWX Technologies, he secured key funding outcomes for next‑generation nuclear manufacturing initiatives, and at Ervin Graves Strategy Group he provided strategic counsel across the defense industrial base.

Lucio holds a J.D. and M.P.A. from Penn State University, an M.B.A. from Florida State University, an M.A. from the U.S. Naval War College and an M.S. from the U.S. Air Command and Staff College. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.