About Roy “Reb” Brownell
Roy “Reb” Brownell is co-author of The U.S. Senate and the Commonwealth (University Press of Kentucky) and co-editor of Magna Carta and the Rule of Law (ABA Press).
As an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, he co-teaches Constitutional Aspects of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Brownell also writes and lectures about separation of powers and has contributed to a number of scholarly publications on the presidency, the vice presidency, presidential succession, the legislative branch, foreign affairs, and sports history.
He is completing a book manuscript about the 1976-77 Philadelphia 76ers, recently published a long-form article about the need for the NBA to officially recognize American Basketball Association statistics, and was interviewed for the 2026 Amazon Prime docuseries “Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association.”
Mr. Brownell’s work has been published in academic journals such as Presidential Studies Quarterly, Perspectives on Politics, Fordham Law Review, Hofstra Law Review, St. John’s Law Review, American University Law Review, University of Memphis Law Review, Arkansas Law Review, Missouri Law Review (forthcoming), Fordham Law Review Online, the New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, the Journal of Law & Politics (published at the University of Virginia School of Law), the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, the Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy, the Seton Hall Constitutional Law Journal, the Akron Journal of Constitutional Law & Policy, the Law and Politics Book Review, the Texas Review of Law & Politics, the Fordham Voting Rights and Democracy Forum, African Affairs, the Journal of Southern African Studies, White House Studies, Engage, and The Federal Lawyer. In addition, he has published Op-Eds in the Wall Street Journal, the Baltimore Sun, The Hill, The Athletic, the Indianapolis Star, and the Louisville Courier-Journal.
His writings on separation of powers have been cited in federal court decisions, in leading treatises and casebooks in the field, and in academic journals.
Mr. Brownell is former Deputy Chief of Staff and Counsel to U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell. Prior to that, he worked as a Senior Advisor for Senate Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. In addition, he has served at the U.S. Agency for International Development and was an attorney at a law firm in Washington, D.C. Mr. Brownell has also worked for three U.S. Senate committees and for a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons.
He holds an LL.M. (with distinction) and a National Security Law certificate from Georgetown University and a J.D. from American University where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. In addition, he holds degrees in history from Boston College (with distinction) and Michigan State University (with honors). He is a member of the Supreme Court and District of Columbia bars.
Mr. Brownell was a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s second Continuity of Government Commission. He has also been a guest lecturer at the Fordham University School of Law, the St. Louis University School of Law, the National War College, and the University of Louisville.
In addition, he helps conduct legislative training programs for lawmakers and staffers from overseas.