Rubio aide Mike Needham promoted to top White House national security post, source says

Washington: U.S. State Department Counselor Michael Needham, a longtime aide to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has been promoted to the post of assistant to ‌the president and ⁠deputy ⁠national security adviser, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

In the post, Needham ​would serve along with Rubio, who is President Donald Trump's acting national ​security adviser as well as ⁠the top ‌U.S. diplomat.

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Needham was chief ​of ​staff to Rubio in ⁠the U.S. Senate, and before that, served as ​chief executive of Heritage Action ​for America, a grassroots group dedicated to promoting conservative values and policies. Needham has been an influential aide to Rubio who has largely kept a ‌low profile but has been front and center on ​a number ​of key policy ⁠issues such as U.S. interest in Greenland as well as the first direct talks ​between Israel and Lebanon in decades.

Axios first reported the appointment.