WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., applauds longtime advisor John Keast for being named one of Capitol Hill’s most effective staffers. Keast serves as Senator Wicker’s Armed Services Committee Staff Director. In this role, Keast guides national security policy, oversees executive branch defense nominations, and keeps senators informed about the ever-changing threat environment. The Hill recently highlighted Keast’s work in its 2025 Notable Staffers List.

“The Hill has recognized what I have known for a very long time. John Keast is committed to public service, he is a natural leader, and he ably guides smart policy into law,” said Senator Wicker. “John works behind the scenes and does not get quoted in the press, but he is an integral part of the brain trust on which I rely.”

Keast is a native of Virginia and a graduate of Radford University. He worked at a non-profit think tank specializing in state and local policy, and as a staff member for the Virginia House of Delegates before joining Wicker’s 1994 campaign in Mississippi. In 2006, after eleven years as Wicker’s chief of staff, Keast joined Cornerstone Government Affairs in Washington, D.C.

In 2018, Senator Wicker appointed Keast to serve as the Staff Director on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Since 2023, Keast has led Senator Wicker’s Armed Services Committee staff.

Keast is married to the former Virginia Hill of Oxford, Mississippi, and the couple has three children.