
FREDRIK PERSSON/AFP/Getty Images
Robert C O'Brien, US Special Envoy Ambassador, arrives at the district court to follow the trial against US rapper ASAP Rocky (not in picture) in Stockholm on August 1, 2019
- President Donald Trump tapped hostage negotiator Robert C. O'Brien as his new national security adviser on Wednesday.
- O'Brien is replacing John Bolton, who was abruptly ousted from the position last week.
- O'Brien made his public splash earlier this summer when Trump sent him to Sweden to monitor rapper A$AP Rocky's trial for assault charges.
- The Washington Post recently reported O'Brien is perceived as "a team player" with "affable demeanor," a stark contrast with Bolton's hard-edged and confrontational approach.
- Here's how O'Brien went from being a State Department official, Trump's chief hostage negotiator to his new national security advisor.
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President Donald Trump tapped his chief hostage negotiator Robert C. O'Brien to be his new national security adviser on Wednesday. O'Brien is replacing John Bolton, who was abruptly ousted from the position last week. He'll be the fourth person to serve in the role.
O'Brien captured headlines earlier this summer when Trump sent him to Sweden to monitor rapper A$AP Rocky's trial for assault charges after a brawl in Stockholm. Now he's confronted with an escalating crisis on Iran.
The Washington Post recently reported O'Brien is perceived as "a team player" with "affable demeanor," a stark contrast with Bolton's ideological and hard-edged management approach.
The new national security adviser was born in Los Angeles and later graduated with a law degree from University of California, Berkeley. He's also the co-founder of Larson O'Brien LLP, a law firm in Los Angeles.
O'Brien has advised three presidential campaigns on foreign policy and served in various State Department roles during the Bush administration, according to his law firm biography.
Here's how O'Brien went from being a State Department official to Trump's chief hostage negotiator to his new national security advisor.