Trump Expected to Pick John Sullivan as No. 2 at State Dept.
His inability or unwillingness to choose his own deputy, protect his department from proposed deep budget cuts, attend meetings with foreign leaders at the White House and effectively manage the narrative of his foreign trips suggests
that he may be a marginal player in an administration dominated by the top White House advisers, Stephen K. Bannon and Jared Kushner.
There is a widely held belief at the State Department
that Mr. Trump wants his foreign policy conducted in such a way that the so-called soft power missions undertaken in the past to brighten the image of the United States abroad — providing foreign aid, accepting refugees, speaking about high-minded values — will be eliminated or slashed.
Mr. Sullivan’s selection as deputy secretary will begin the long process of filling out Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson’s top leadership at the department, which is facing a proposed 31 percent budget cut
and growing worries about its relevance in President Trump’s national security infrastructure.
By MAGGIE HABERMAN and GARDINER HARRISMARCH 24, 2017
WASHINGTON — John J. Sullivan, a prominent Republican lawyer who served in the administration of
President George W. Bush, is expected to be nominated to serve as the State Department’s No.
Mr. Sullivan served in the Bush administration in top legal jobs at both the Defense Department
and the Commerce Department before being confirmed in 2007 as the No.
James Jay Carafano, a vice president of the conservative Heritage Foundation
and a member of Mr. Trump’s transition team, said Mr. Sullivan’s lack of experience at the State Department would be an asset.
