WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday that one of his top aides is leaving for a top job with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and will be replaced by a brother of President Joe Biden’s national security adviser.
State Department adviser Derek Chollet, a veteran of national security roles in Democratic presidential administrations, will become Austin’s chief of staff. Chollet will be replaced in his State Department role by Tom Sullivan, brother of Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Tom Sullivan was Blinken’s deputy chief of staff for policy.
Chollet was named undersecretary of defense for policy, but his Senate confirmation stalled and administration officials became increasingly frustrated with repeated delays.
The musical chairs in the national security hierarchy come amid growing concerns about developments in the Middle East, Ukraine and China.
“I am delighted that Derek Chollet will start in July as my chief of staff. He is one of the most distinguished, insightful and skilled national security professionals of his generation, and I am grateful to him for taking on this important task at such an important time,” Austin said in a statement.
Blinken said in his own statement: “During his time at the State Department, he has taken on some of the most difficult diplomatic missions, from the Balkans and Burma to Pakistan and Northern Ireland, and over the past nine months has been instrumental in shaping our response to the crisis in the Middle East.”
Blinken also praised Tom Sullivan, who was a senior official under former Secretary of State John Kerry, for having “an unparalleled depth of knowledge about how national security policy is formulated and implemented, something he applies every day on behalf of the American people.”
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