Rubio replaces top US diplomat for Europe with former Senate staffer, consultant

By Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Secretary of State Marco Rubio has appointed a former member of his Senate staff who primarily has experience as a business consultant as the U.S. State Department's top official for Europe, according to the department's website.

The change in the most senior official who helps oversee U.S. ties with Europe at the State Department, first reported by Reuters, comes at a time when Washington is managing an increasingly tense relationship with the continent as President Donald Trump says he wants to take over Greenland, pressure allies on NATO spending and end Russia's war in Ukraine.

It is also the latest change as the Trump administration has proposed a major overhaul of the State Department aimed at ensuring the agency faithfully implements Trump's "America First" priorities.

Louis Bono, a senior foreign service officer who was appointed as senior bureau official in the department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs when Trump took office in January, wrote to staff on Friday that Brendan Hanrahan would be taking over the role.

A biography posted on the department's website later on Friday confirmed the appointment.

"Brendan brings valuable experience from the private sector and the Senate, where he served on the secretary's staff, making him well poised to lead the bureau through the reorganization and to successfully advance the Secretary's agenda throughout Europe and beyond," Bono wrote in an internal email on Friday seen by Reuters.

It was not clear what role Hanrahan had in Rubio's Senate office and how long he worked there, or whether he has direct experience working on foreign policy.

Hanrahan's new title of "senior bureau official" typically suggests an appointment for an interim period.

The SBO position serves in an acting capacity when an assistant secretary, a Senate-confirmed position, is yet to be named. It was not immediately clear whether Hanrahan was brought in for a temporary period or for longer.

PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERIENCE

Two State Department officials, who requested anonymity, said some staff were concerned about his apparent lack of relevant experience.

The State Department biography of Hanrahan posted on Friday said he was previously an investor at Bain Capital on the North America Private Equity team and began his career at McKinsey & Company.

He also worked as a policy advisor for the U.S. Senate's Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship under then-Senator Rubio, it said.

The biography did not refer to any direct experience working on foreign policy issues.

A senior State Department official, responding to this story, said Hanrahan is "a talented and proven professional who has immense experience in the private sector carrying out commercial diplomacy."

"Brendan will bring an important economic perspective to the bureau, play a critical role in the reorganization, and be instrumental in advancing our America First agenda throughout the region," said the official, who requested anonymity.

The head of the State Department's Europe bureau typically plays a front and center role in Washington's dealings with European countries including Ukraine and also Russia.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine began in February 2022, State Department officials serving in that role have been instrumental in Washington's diplomacy with Europe and in managing relations with Russia. Those officials were almost always Senate-confirmed.

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

There has already been growing concern across some European officials that the Russians are taking advantage of the lack of experience by the U.S. negotiating team. Witkoff is a real estate billionaire who had no diplomatic experience before joining Trump's team in January.

Since taking office in January, Trump has upended U.S. foreign policy, pressing Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire while easing many of the measures the Biden administration had taken to punish Russia for its invasion of its neighbor.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Daniel Wallis and Chizu Nomiyama)