WASHINGTON—President Trump named Robert C. O’Brien as his new national security adviser, picking a top hostage-affairs official for the high-profile White House role at a time when the U.S. is weighing how to respond to attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Trump tweeted the announcement Wednesday morning, writing: “I have worked long & hard with Robert. He will do a great job!”
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
In his State Department position, which he held from May 2018, O’Brien worked closely with families of American hostages and advised the Trump administration on hostage issues. He previously helped lead the agency’s initiative for justice reform in Afghanistan during the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
O’Brien’s appointment comes as Trump is confronted with multiple challenges in the Middle and Near East, including how to respond to weekend attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, and how to negotiate peace agreements in Afghanistan’s civil war and between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Trump administration also faces what it sees as increasing regional aggression from Iran, the target of new sanctions Trump announced just moments before tweeting about O’Brien’s appointment.
O’Brien was a major in the U.S. Army Reserve. After graduating from the University of California-Berkeley School of Law, he founded a law firm in California that focused on international arbitration issues.
As national security adviser, O’Brien will be the highest-ranking Mormon in the U.S. government, a notable development for a church that has shown some wariness of Trump. The religious community is also expected to be a significant voting demographic in certain states in the 2020 presidential election.
