President Obama named Thomas Donilon as his new national security adviser Friday after Gen. James Jones quit the post, the latest in a series of White House departures.
At a Rose Garden ceremony, Obama thanked Jones, saying he was "extraordinarily thankful" for his counsel, which he "relied on every day."
Jones' resignation is to take effect in two weeks. The decorated Vietnam veteran and former NATO commander said he agreed to join Obama's team because he was convinced the new president was willing to take on the "hardest issues of our time."
Jones told staff that he intended to leave by the end of this year, but that timeline may have moved up after Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward's new book, Obama's Wars, described sniping between Jones and other senior White House staff.
And this summer, a Rolling Stone magazine article quoted an aide to now-retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, as calling Jones a "clown" who remains "stuck in 1985."
Donilon also comes in for criticism in Woodward's book. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was quoted in Obama's Wars as saying that Donilon would be "a disaster" in the powerful White House job.
Gates told reporters Friday he has a "good working relationship" with Donilon, "contrary to what you may have read."
Donilon, 55, has been with Obama since the presidential campaign. He is a longtime Democratic operative who worked in both the Carter and Clinton administrations.
Obama said Donilon has already been immersed in every major national security issue and earned his trust. The president also praised Donilon for his "probing intellect and enormous energy" and said he brings a "wealth of experience that will serve him well."
In his current role as the No. 2 person at the National Security Council, Donilon has urged the White House to decrease U.S. commitments to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to focus on emerging challenges such as China and Iran. He also played a leading role in the policymaking process that tees up the national security decisions for the president, and is known for bringing an understanding of domestic policy and politics to the job.
Jones' departure, though expected, is the latest high-profile departure among Obama's leadership team. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel left last week to pursue the mayor's seat in Chicago. Last month, top economic advisers Larry Summers and Christina Romer announced their resignations, though Summers plans to serve out the year.
But Thomas Mann, a senior fellow in governmental studies at the centrist Brookings Institution, says it's not a case of top staffers abandoning a sinking ship even though opinion polls show Democrats could get a drubbing in next month's midterm elections.
"I don't see anyone bailing out in protest of over the direction on the administration," Mann says. "It's not a sign of panic."
Neither is it likely that the president is in the initial stages of a post-election shakeup, he says.
Mann notes that the president chose Donilon, an insider, to replace Jones and that senior adviser Peter Rouse, now acting chief of staff, will probably get the job on a permanent basis.
"I think what we see with Pete Rouse and Tom Donilon is that the president is not displeased with his team," he says.
White House aides say Jones, 66, put his stamp on Obama's major foreign policy decisions over the last 20 months, including a larger troop presence in Afghanistan, a winding down of the war in Iraq and a retooled relationship with Russia.
Jones retired from active duty in February 2007 after more than 40 years of service in uniform. He was the 32nd Marine Corps Commandant from 1999 to 2003 and later became the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and Commander of the United States European Command, holding the positions until December 2006.
Administration officials said they expect him to go into semi-retirement, perhaps serving on boards and offering counsel to the White House.
NPR's Ari Shapiro contributed to this report, which contains material from The Associated Press.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAzMjM2NDYzMDEyMzc1Njk5NjAxNzY3OQ001))
