President Trump announced Wednesday he has chosen current Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Robert C. O’Brien as national security adviser, replacing Ambassador John Bolton.
Trump revealed his pick on Twitter: “I am pleased to announce that I will name Robert C. O’Brien, currently serving as the very successful Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department, as our new National Security Advisor. I have worked long & hard with Robert. He will do a great job!”
Trump returns to National Prayer Breakfast as faith takes center stage in second term
Republican who said Sen Cassidy ‘sucks,’ gets Trump endorsement after ditching Senate bid for House run
Teachers union leaders spent thousands at swanky resorts
Bodycam shows NYPD officer shooting man with knife as Mamdani calls for no criminal charges
Georgia GOP Rep Barry Loudermilk to retire, adding to wave of House exits
More than 200 people evaluated in Tennessee after carbon monoxide leak infiltrates university facility
FBI arrests 55 in massive drug ring with alleged China supplier flooding US streets with fentanyl
Hochul primary challenger picks democratic socialist, once arrested for harassment, as running mate
DC Democrats Turn Their Backs on the Clintons: ‘They Bring Nothing But Baggage’
Massive student immigration protest turns violent in downtown LA; dispersal order issued: police
Government lawyer who told judge ‘this job sucks’ sent back to DHS
Democrats say Clintons’ agreement to testify undercuts subpoena push, won’t bring new Epstein answers
Baltimore’s progressive mayor calls reporter ‘racist’ in heated exchange over luxury taxpayer vehicle
Joseph Gordon-Levitt slams Big Tech for sextortion, threats to children while calling for key internet reform
New York subway hearing erupts as MTA boss snaps ‘shut up’ amid grilling over guards letting fare jumpers walk
I am pleased to announce that I will name Robert C. O’Brien, currently serving as the very successful Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department, as our new National Security Advisor. I have worked long & hard with Robert. He will do a great job!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 18, 2019
O’Brien helped to gain the release of American rapper A$AP Rocky, after he was arrested and detained in Sweden earlier this year after getting into a street altercation.
He served as a senior foreign policy advisor to then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) and Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) in their presidential campaigns. Romney tweeted Wednesday, after the president made the announcement of his appointment:
Congratulations to my friend Robert O’Brien, who the President has appointed to serve as National Security Advisor. As the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, he has doggedly pursued the release of American hostages abroad. He is a man of the highest integrity.
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) September 18, 2019
Trump returns to National Prayer Breakfast as faith takes center stage in second term
Republican who said Sen Cassidy ‘sucks,’ gets Trump endorsement after ditching Senate bid for House run
Teachers union leaders spent thousands at swanky resorts
Bodycam shows NYPD officer shooting man with knife as Mamdani calls for no criminal charges
Georgia GOP Rep Barry Loudermilk to retire, adding to wave of House exits
More than 200 people evaluated in Tennessee after carbon monoxide leak infiltrates university facility
FBI arrests 55 in massive drug ring with alleged China supplier flooding US streets with fentanyl
Hochul primary challenger picks democratic socialist, once arrested for harassment, as running mate
DC Democrats Turn Their Backs on the Clintons: ‘They Bring Nothing But Baggage’
Massive student immigration protest turns violent in downtown LA; dispersal order issued: police
Government lawyer who told judge ‘this job sucks’ sent back to DHS
Democrats say Clintons’ agreement to testify undercuts subpoena push, won’t bring new Epstein answers
Baltimore’s progressive mayor calls reporter ‘racist’ in heated exchange over luxury taxpayer vehicle
Joseph Gordon-Levitt slams Big Tech for sextortion, threats to children while calling for key internet reform
New York subway hearing erupts as MTA boss snaps ‘shut up’ amid grilling over guards letting fare jumpers walk
O’Brien has some experience with Afghanistan, which the president is trying to wind down the U.S. troop presence in. He served as as Co-Chairman of the U.S. Department of State Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan under the Bush and Obama administrations, according to his State Department biography.
He also served as a member of the U.S. Cultural Property Advisory Committee, which advises the government on issues relating to the trafficking of antiquities and other cultural items. In 2005, he served as a U.S. Representative to the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he worked with then-U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton. He also served as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve.
O’Brien is also the co-founding partner of litigation firm Larson O’Brien LLP in Los Angeles, which focuses on complex litigation and international arbitration. He is a graduate of the Boalt Hall School of Law at U.C. Berkeley and UCLA.
He replaces Bolton, who the president fired last week, over various foreign policy disagreements reportedly on North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Afghanistan.
Story cited here.
