Tag: Robert O’Brien

O’Brien cuts short Europe trip to address agency hacking

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser returned to Washington early to coordinate the government response to the suspected Russian cyberattack.

Robert O’Brien, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, cut short a European trip to return to Washington to coordinate the government response to the suspected Russian cyber attack on multiple federal agencies, according to an administration official.

O’Brien flew back to Washington on Tuesday from Paris, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron, to address the attack, which targeted the Departments of Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security and Defense.

The official said the change in plans is a reflection of how seriously they view the situation. O’Brien has had a heavy travel schedule as national security adviser and was criticized for traveling to a number of swing states right before the election. He has told friends that he wants to run for president in 2024. Continue reading.

Trump national security adviser vows ‘professional transition’ of power

The Hill logo

President Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, on Monday said there will be a “professional transition” to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration despite Trump’s refusal to concede that he lost the election.

Speaking to The Hill’s editor-at-large Steve Clemons at the Global Security Forum, O’Brien left open the possibility that Trump could still win a second term if the courts determine there was widespread fraud.

But O’Brien said it appears clear, at the moment, that Biden and running mate Kamala Harris won the election and should be given the time they need to get their people and policies in place. Continue reading.

Trump’s national security adviser tests positive for coronavirus

The Hill logoNational security adviser Robert O’Brien has tested positive for COVID-19, a White House official confirmed on Monday.

“National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien tested positive for COVID-19. He has mild symptoms and has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off site,” the official said in a statement.

“There is no risk of exposure to the President or the Vice President,” the official added. “The work of the National Security Council continues uninterrupted.” Continue reading.

Robert O’Brien ‘Looks the Part,’ but Has Spent Little Time Playing It

New York Times logoMr. O’Brien, President Trump’s new national security adviser, is said to bring milder views and a sunnier personality to the job than John R. Bolton.

WASHINGTON — Even his many critics conceded that the former national security adviser John R. Bolton brought useful credentials to the job: decades of foreign policy experience and a keen grasp of how the gears of government turn.

Mr. Bolton’s main problem, as it turned out, was that he knew too much. Confident in his experience to a fault, he was unwilling to shade his deeply held hawkish views, which he defended with a prickly personality that alienated colleagues — and ultimately President Trump himself, leading to his ouster last week.

Robert C. O’Brien, Mr. Trump’s choice to succeed Mr. Bolton, flips that equation. He is a former Los Angeles lawyer with limited government experience before he became the State Department’s point man for hostage negotiations. But his friends all cite an affable, ingratiating personality that has earned him allies throughout the Trump administration, notably including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, both of whom supported his appointment.

View the complete September 18 article by Michael Crowley, Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman on The New York Times website here.