After completing law school, Lago spent one year as a law clerk for U.S. Circuit Judge
Hugh H. Bownes in
Concord, New Hampshire. After confirmation by the
New York State Senate, she served until June 2009 and then continued to work as an advisor to the corporation until joining the Obama administration in February 2010. After the resignation of James LaGarde Hudson, Lago also served as acting U.S. director of the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from December 2013 until the confirmation of Scott Ames Allen in November 2015. In November 2014, President Obama nominated Lago to be a
deputy trade representative with the rank of ambassador and nominated
Wally Adeyemo to replace her as assistant secretary of the treasury. She appeared before the
Senate Committee on Finance in July 2015 and the committee advanced her nomination to the full Senate in August. Adeyemo's nomination was withdrawn in December 2015 and no further action was taken on Lago's nomination before the end of the Obama administration in January 2017.
New York City Government In January 2017,
New York City mayor
Bill de Blasio announced that Lago would succeed
Carl Weisbrod as director of the
Department of City Planning and chair of the City Planning Commission.
Biden Administration In September 2021, President
Joe Biden nominated Lago to be the next
under secretary of commerce for international trade. The
United States Senate confirmed her on December 16, 2021, by voice vote, and she was sworn in on December 28, 2021. Lago was part of a Biden administration effort in April 2022 to help repair the United States' "strained relations" with
Turkey,
Axios reported. Lago traveled to Turkey to promote clean energy efforts in the region. ==References==