Pablo E. Carrillo is a senior member of the firm’s Public Policy Practice Group, and a key defense and national security advisor in its International Trade & Foreign Investment and Government Contracts practice areas. Pable also supports the firm’s Government Investigations & White Collar Practice Group, and is a top practitioner in congressional oversight and investigations (O&I), guiding clients through high stakes, high visibility scrutiny from Capitol Hill.
Pablo’s O&I work is grounded in more than a decade of senior investigative leadership in Congress. As minority general counsel to the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), he directed major oversight efforts into defense acquisition failures, contractor misconduct and government accountability. He led two of the most consequential congressional investigations of the past generation: a US$30 billion Air Force tanker leasing scandal, which resulted in multiple federal convictions, and the Abramoff lobbying investigation, which yielded more than 20 guilty pleas and convictions, including those of a member of Congress and a senior Executive Branch official. These investigations helped establish modern congressional expectations for ethics, procurement integrity and executive branch accountability.
Pablo later served as chief of staff to US Senator John McCain, then chairman of SASC and former presidential nominee. In that role, he managed the senator’s Washington and Arizona offices, oversaw a multimillion dollar budget and advanced McCain’s legislative and oversight priorities. In addition to helping ensure the annual enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act, he also served as the principal Republican negotiator of landmark acquisition and industrial base reforms, including the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 and reforms to the national security space launch program, modernizing how the Department of Defense engages with the commercial sector and approaches competition, cost control and innovation.
Today, Pablo advises high profile individuals, global companies and emerging technology firms facing congressional investigations, often in politically charged environments. His work frequently involves matters before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, the House Oversight & Reform Committee and the House Energy & Commerce Committee, where he helps clients navigate complex document requests, briefing demands and hearing preparation in parallel with regulatory and enforcement risks.
In his broader policy practice, Pablo represents corporate and sovereign clients on national security, international trade and finance matters before the Department of Defense, Department of Commerce and Department of Treasury, as well as the Export Import Bank of the US. He regularly advises clients on federal regulatory, enforcement and procurement frameworks. He also maintains a strong pro bono commitment to climate change and human rights advocacy.
Pablo is a frequent contributor to the firm’s Capital Thinking – Global Public Policy Insights blog, writing on trade, investment, technology and national security policy. A native of New Orleans, Pablo served as senior managing editor of the Tulane Law Review and began his legal career in admiralty law, representing maritime clients throughout the litigation lifecycle. He previously served as a judicial extern to the late Chief Judge Morey Sear of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.