Mike Needham, a longtime aide to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has been promoted to a top national security job in the White House, Axios has learned.
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Why it matters: Needham's new post as assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser is one of the more important jobs in a Trump administration consumed with foreign policy challenges from Iran to China, Cuba and Venezuela.
Zoom in: Needham replaces Robert Gabriel, whom White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles last week called "a trusted confidant and dear friend to me and his White House colleagues."
- Like Gabriel, Needham has good relations in the White House, including with Vice President JD Vance's team.
- "Everyone likes Mike. He gets the policy. He gets the politics," said a senior administration official.
- Because Rubio is also the president's national security adviser, Needham's transition still puts him in close contact with the secretary.
Rubio said in a statement: "Mike has been a key player in delivering President Trump's overwhelming foreign policy successes. In his new role as Deputy National Security Advisor, Mike will continue to implement the President's America First agenda and build upon the historic record of the Trump National Security Council."
The backstory: Needham entered Rubio's orbit as his Senate chief of staff in 2018 after leaving Heritage Action, a conservative political group, then joined the Trump administration with Rubio to serve as his State Department counselor.
- Dan Holler, Rubio's current chief of staff, will now take Needham's job as counselor and serve as acting director of policy planning. Holler served with Needham in Rubio's Senate office and at Heritage Action before.
- Matt Rhodes, now chief of staff to the counselor, will take Holler's spot as chief of staff at the State Department.