President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named former national security aide and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as a special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, commissioning him to lead negotiations to end the war.
In a statement, Trump said that Kellogg, who served as national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, “was with me right from the beginning” and “will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!”
The move is not likely to allay anxieties among European allies that Trump will attempt to pursue peace between Russia and Ukraine. Western leaders are concerned that Trump’s terms could come at Ukraine’s long-term expense, including by pressuring Kyiv to give up territory or not providing Ukraine with adequate security guarantees to deter Russian aggression in the future.
Kellogg, 80, has held a senior foreign policy role at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute and in that role has voiced skepticism of U.S. support for Ukraine.
In June, he and former national security aide Fred Fleitz unveiled a Ukraine policy plan that, among other things, conditioned further U.S. aid on Kyiv’s participation in peace talks with Moscow.
It is also unclear whether Trump’s team will design the role such that it would require Senate confirmation. As of 2023, special envoys are potentially subject to Senate confirmation, though the Biden administration has managed to circumvent that law, as exhibited by the appointment of special climate envoy John Podesta.
Kellogg, however, is not expected to face sharp opposition from Senate Republicans if subjected to a formal confirmation process.