Semaj Martin-Redd serves as Legislative Director and National Security Advisor to Congressman Trent Kelly (MS-01), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces. In this role, he oversees the Congressman’s full legislative operation—setting strategic direction, managing the legislative team, and coordinating policy development across all issue areas.
He leads the Congressman’s national security and defense portfolio, advising on force structure, maritime strategy, defense acquisition, and the U.S. defense industrial base. His work focuses on advancing policies that strengthen warfighting readiness, sustain shipbuilding and logistics capabilities, and preserve America’s long-term strategic and technological advantage.
Semaj holds a Master’s degree in Military Operational Arts and Science, with a concentration in Joint Warfare, from the U.S. Air Command and Staff College, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Mississippi State University, with minors in German, International Studies, and Philosophy. He is a Fulbright grantee, an alumnus of the PPIA Junior Summer Institute at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and a finalist for both the Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships.