WASHINGTON − President-elect Donald Trump has picked Richard Grenell, a close advisor on foreign policy and intelligence issues, to be his presidential envoy for special missions.
Trump announced the move on his Truth Social media platform, saying Grenell would “work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea.”
Considered one of Trump’s staunchest loyalists, Grenell served in the first Trump administration as U.S. ambassador to Germany, where he sparked controversy for his contentious personality and management style. The 58-year-old longtime GOP political operative was one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters during his first term inside the U.S. diplomatic corps.
Grenell then served for a short period as Trump’s acting director of the Office of National Intelligence in 2020, a key post overseeing the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies including the CIA and National Security Agency. His tenure caused strife given his lack of intelligence experience.
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“Rick has represented our Country exceedingly well and I look forward to working with him,” Trump posted on Twitter in February 2020 in announcing Grenell’s selection to the intelligence job.
More recently, Grenell was a featured speaker at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July, where he discussed Trump’s strengths on national security issues and what he said were President Joe Biden’s failures.
In September, Grenell sat in on Trump’s private meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump Tower in Manhattan, Reuters reported. He has publicly advocated for ending Russia’s war with Ukraine on terms considered unacceptable by the Kyiv government.
Contributing: Reuters
Josh Meyer is USA Today’s Domestic Security Correspondent. Email him at jmeyer@usatoday.com and follow him at @JoshMeyerDC on X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump loyalist Richard Grenell named envoy for special missions