SFRC’s Jessica Lewis to be Asst Secretary for Political-Military Affairs (State/PM)

April 27, 2021 By domani spero in assistant secretaries, Functional Bureaus, Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, State Department Tags: Biden Nominations, Jessica Lewis, SFRC, State/PM, Timothy Betts, Tina S. Kaidanow

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On April 23, 2021 President Biden announced his intent to nominate Jessica Lewis to be the next Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs. The WH released a brief bio:

Jessica Lewis, Nominee for Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Department of State

Jessica Lewis currently serves as Democratic Staff Director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Previously, from 2007 – 2014, she was the National Security Advisor and Foreign Policy Advisor, and then Senior National Security Advisor, to Senate Majority/Minority Leader Harry Reid. Earlier, Lewis was the Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Robert Menendez and, before that the Democratic Staff Director for the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House International Relations Committee, Ranking Member Robert Menendez. She also worked as Manager, New Initiative Development, and as Manager, Net Corps America, at the Organization of American States. Lewis received an MPA degree from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, an MA degree from Johns Hopkins University, and a BA degree from Haverford College.

The last career appointee to the Pol-Mil bureau was Ambassador Thomas Edmund McNamara who served from 1994–1998. If confirmed, Ms. Lewis would succeed R. Clarke Cooper who served from 2019-2021.

Ambassador Tina Kaidanow served as Acting A/S prior to Cooper’s confirmation. Senior FSO Timothy Betts has served as Acting A/S since the beginning of the Biden Administration.

Congratulations to Jessica Lewis on her well-deserved nomination to be our next Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs ⁦@StateDept⁩. She will be an outstanding addition to a strong State Department team. pic.twitter.com/OYw1Ps1toN

— Joe Cirincione (@Cirincione) April 24, 2021

#Senate Press Release: Cardin Names Jessica Lewis as New SFRC Staff Director https://t.co/rlM27DrpQe @SenatorCardin

— QuorumCall (@QuorumCall) September 29, 2016

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Trump to Nominate Nathan Alexander Sales to be @StateDept Coordinator for Counterterrorism

June 12, 2017 By domani spero in Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, State Department, Top Ranks, Trump Tags: Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism, CT/CVE, Justin Siberell, Nathan Alexander Sales, Tina S. Kaidanow

Posted: 2:41 am ET
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Friday night White House nominations and appointments: pic.twitter.com/Y28yf6vhba

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) June 10, 2017

Mr. Sales publicly available bio (PDF) says that he is an Associate Professor of Law (May 2014-present) at Syracuse University College of Law in New York. Prior to that, he was Assistant Professor of Law (January 2008-May 2014) at the George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia.

He previously worked at DHS’s Office of Policy as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development (July 2006-December 2007) and at DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy. His bio says that he “Managed Justice Department “war room” during confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts.” It also says he received Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service (Justice Department’s highest honor) in 2002, for his role in drafting the USA PATRIOT Act and in 2003, received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for his role in judicial confirmation process. He served as a law clerk for David B. Sentelle at the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia from July 2000-July 2001.

If confirmed, Mr. Sales would succeed career diplomat Tina S. Kaidanow who was appointed to CT from 2014-2016 (see Bureau of Counterterrorism’s Tina Kaidanow Moves to Pol-Mil Affairs, Justin Siberell Now Acting Coordinator). Mr. Siberell, a career FSO was nominated to be Coordinator for Counterterrorism to head the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism (CT/CVE) in September 2016. The nomination was not acted by the Senate and was returned to President Obama in January 2017 (see @StateDept Nominations Forgotten By the Senate Time Lords of the 114th Congress).

Below is a quick description of this position:

On Aug 1, 1976, the Department of State elevated the position of Special Assistant to the Secretary of State and Coordinator of the Office for Combating Terrorism to that of Director of the Office for Combating Terrorism, with rank equivalent to an Assistant Secretary of State. All Directors have been designated by the Secretary of State, not commissioned. The Department had established the earlier position in October 1972 to head an interagency working-level committee charged with addressing the problem of international terrorism.

The State Department website notes that in 1994, Congress officially mandated the Bureau of Counterterrorism in Public Law 103-236 [H.R. 2333]. In 1998, Congress further defined the role of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism in Public Law 105-277 [H.R. 4328]:

“There is within the office of the Secretary of State a Coordinator for Counterterrorism…who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate…. The principal duty of the coordinator shall be the overall supervision (including policy oversight of resources) of international counterterrorism activities. The Coordinator shall be the principal adviser to the Secretary of State on international counterterrorism matters. The coordinator shall be the principal counterterrorism official within the senior management of the Department of State and shall report directly to the Secretary of State. The Coordinator shall have the rank and status of Ambassador at Large.”

Bureau of Counterterrorism to Add Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) to Its Mandate

February 2, 2016 By domani spero in Foreign Assistance, FSOs, Functional Bureaus, John F. Kerry, Leadership and Management, State Department, Top Ranks Tags: Countering Violent Extremism, Global Engagement Center, Judith McHale, Michael Lumpkin, Richard LeBaron, Sarah Sewall, State/CT, State/CT-CVE, Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, Tina S. Kaidanow, Under Secretary for Civilian Security Democracy and Human Rights, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

Posted: 2:10 pm EDT
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According to FP’s John Hudson, the Bureau of Counterterrorism (State/CT) will now become the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism (CT-CVE). The name change will reportedly “play up the importance of non-military programs aimed at eliminating the root causes of terrorism — programs referred to in government-speak as CVE.” The report also says it is unclear how “in practice the bureau would effectively coordinate the work of other key offices” citing in particular the State Department’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) recently rebranded as the Global Engagement Center (GEC). Excerpt below:

But the center, newly-branded as the Global Engagement Center, will not report directly to the bureau, according to officials. It will continue to report to the under secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Its new leader is Michael Lumpkin, a former U.S. Navy officer who previously served as assistant secretary of defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. Despite its lack of demonstrated effectiveness, the center’s annual budget of $5 million is expected to increase by at least $2 million. The president’s budget request for the next fiscal year is expected to be made public next week.

Some former officials said they worried that the Bureau of Counterterrorism’s new mandate is in name only. In reality, the bureau is heavily micromanaged by the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Sarah Sewall– a dynamic that has caused tension and dysfunction in the past. “If they want it to function the way they say it’s going to function, then the under secretary needs to step back and let the bureau do it’s job, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” said a former State Department official.

Active link for State/J added. Read more:

EXCLUSIVE: Growth of ISIS forces overhaul in State Dept. counter extremism apparatus, @John_Hudson reports https://t.co/T75SkCSARi

— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) February 2, 2016

A related note, HRC was furnished a copy of an oped on the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) in 2012, drafted by then “R” Judith McHale and CSCC’s Richard LeBaron. In an email to Jake Sullivan, HRC writes, “This is a good idea but it was my idea which is not reflected in the text and I’d like us to clasim (sic) it.” The email is available to read here (PDF) via foia.state.gov.

Related posts:

Confirmations: Smith, Sherman, Novelli, Kaidanow, Gardner

February 24, 2014 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Appointments, Confirmations, Congress, State Department, Top Ranks, U.S. Missions Tags: Anthony Luzzatto Gardner, Catherine Ann Novelli, Daniel Bennett Smith, Robert A. Sherman, State/CT, State/E, State/INR, Tina S. Kaidanow, US Embassy Lisbon, USEU

— Domani Spero

On February 12, 2014, the U.S. Senate confirmed the following executive nominations for the State Department:

Anthony Luzzatto Gardner, of New York, to be Representative of the United States of America to the European Union, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Tina S. Kaidanow, of the District of Columbia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Coordinator for Counterterrorism, with the rank and status of Ambassador at Large (State/CT)
Catherine Ann Novelli, of Virginia, to be an Under Secretary of State (Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment) State/E
Robert A. Sherman, of Massachusetts, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Portuguese Republic.
Daniel Bennett Smith, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Intelligence and Research) State/INR

* * *

Up All Night to Do Nothing (swampland.time.com)
Senate “Nuclear” Fallout Snares State Department Nominees (diplopundit.net)
Here Comes the Sun: U.S. Senate Confirms A Slew of New Ambassadors as It Runs Out the Door (diplopundit.net)
Appointments: Beers may go to White House, Kaidanow for State CT (backchannel.al-monitor.com)
Senate Pulls All Nighter on Post-Nuclear Nominations (swampland.time.com)
Obama’s new picks for top jobs (washingtonpost.com)

On April 23, 2021 President Biden announced his intent to nominate Jessica Lewis to be the next Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs. The WH released a brief bio:

The last career appointee to the Pol-Mil bureau was Ambassador Thomas Edmund McNamara who served from 1994–1998. If confirmed, Ms. Lewis would succeed R. Clarke Cooper who served from 2019-2021.

Ambassador Tina Kaidanow served as Acting A/S prior to Cooper’s confirmation. Senior FSO Timothy Betts has served as Acting A/S since the beginning of the Biden Administration.

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