Psaki to become State Department spokeswoman, other changes

[Mass]

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/13/psaki-to-become-state-department-spokeswoman/?iref=allsearch

Washington (CNN) - Secretary of State John Kerry has asked his “old communicator and colleague,” Jen Psaki, to be the agency’s new chief spokeswoman, a senior State Department official said.

Psaki was President Barack Obama’s deputy communications director and worked with Kerry on his 2004 presidential campaign.

Most recently she has been a senior vice president and managing director with the Global Strategy Group.

The official said Psaki will be briefed over the coming days on the issues that she will deal with at the State Department.

The current spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, a career Foreign Service officer and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, will return to the Foreign Service in a “policy role

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/02/the-state-of-the-union-is-the-note/

Secretary of State John Kerry has selected the senior staff who will help him as the nation’s top diplomat. A Senior State Department Official confirms to ABC’s Dana Hughes the following changes in Secretary Kerry’s new administration: David Wade, Chief of Staff: Wade served as Kerry’s chief of staff in the Senate. William Danvers, Deputy Chief of Staff and Policy Director: Danvers is a foreign policy expert, specializing in nuclear reduction issues who’s worked for Defense, State and Intelligence agencies for over 30 years. Heather Higginbottom, Counselor of the Department: Higginbottom is a former Deputy Director of the federal Office of Management and Budget. Glen Johnson, Senior Advisor: A former Boston Globe reporter for 27 years, Johnson’s title is likely to change to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. He will assist Kerry with strategic communications.

[Luftmensch067]

1. Very interesting

I had wondered especially about the new spokesperson after watching a couple of briefings with Nuland, who seems effective, but steely. It was fascinating to look her up and find out that she grew up as the daughter of a medical ethicist on the Yale faculty and that she married into a neoconservative family (husband and father-in-law) connected with PNAC, the Brookings Institution and HRC (her husband Robert Kagan served on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Foreign Affairs Policy Board per his Wikipedia entry.) I'll look forward to finding out more about Jen Psaki and watching her briefings to compare her style to Nuland's.

I'm glad JK will be working with people he trusts and likes, especially David Wade.