Auburn native Brian McKeon has been named to a key advisory post for Vice President-elect Joseph Biden.

The Obama-Biden transition team announced that McKeon will serve as deputy national security advisor to the vice president.

“Brian McKeon has been an integral part of my staff for over 20 years,” Biden said in a press release.

“He is an expert among experts in the national security field and one of the finest lawyers I've ever known. He has unimpeachable integrity and his continued counsel will be an invaluable addition to the Obama-Biden Administration.”

McKeon has advised Biden on foreign affairs, national security issues and legal matters.

Most recently, he has been part of the transition team's State Department agency review staff.

Prior to that, he served as chief counsel for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he had worked since 1997 under Biden.

He had also worked for Biden from 1985 to 1995, including seven years as legislative assistant for foreign policy and defense.

He also worked as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar, and on the Clinton-Gore 1996 presidential campaign.

McKeon is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University Law Center.