Rubio puts his man as a boss of ties with Europe, Russia and Ukraine

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has appointed a member of his team from the time he was a senator who has mostly experience as a business consultant, as a senior US Department of State, responsible for Europe, Russia and Ukraine.

The Trump Administration has proposed a major overhaul of the State Department aimed at ensuring that the agency faithfully fulfilling Trump America’s priorities in the first place.

Louis Bono, a senior officer at the Foreign Office, who was appointed a senior officer at the Department of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau when Trump took office in January, wrote to the employees on Friday that Brandon Hanrahan would take over the post.

It is unclear what the role of Hanrahan was in Rubio’s office in the Senate and how long he worked there, nor whether he had direct experience in foreign policy work.

Reuters

Hanrahan’s new Senior Bureau employee usually presupposes an appointment for an intermediate period, but does not specify what his commitment will be. Usually, the position of a senior bureau employee is occupied until the Senate approves an assistant secretary.

Deleted biography

Two State Department officials who wished anonymity said they had been informed that Hanrahan was joining the department of the consulting firm Bain Capital and that the employees were worried that he had no appropriate experience.

A LinkedIn page belonging to Brandon Hanrahan, in which Bain Capital is referred to as his employer, was removed on Friday.

His biography of the Bain Capital website was also wiped, but had previously been recorded by the non -governmental organization Wayback Machine, which is archived on websites. This record shows that he joined the company in 2017 and worked in her team for private capital investment. Previously, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Co.

The position in the State Department, which Hanrahan will play so far, usually plays a leading role in Washington’s relations with European countries, including Ukraine, as well as Russia.

Since the full -scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine began in February 2022, staff of the State Department playing this role has played a key role in Washington’s diplomacy with Europe and in the management of relations with Russia. These employees have almost always been confirmed by the Senate.

The administration’s negotiations with Russia have so far been led by the special envoy of Trump and his close friend Steve Whitkoff, who made his fourth visit to Moscow on Friday since Trump took office to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Some European officials are already increasing the concern that the Russians are taking advantage of the lack of experience in the US negotiation team. Whitkoff is a billionaire in real estate that has no diplomatic experience before joining Trump’s team in January.

Since taking office in January, Trump has overturned the US foreign policy, putting pressure on Ukraine to agree to the cessation of fire, while alleviating many of the measures taken by the Biden administration to punish Russia for the invasion.