Jake Sullivan
White House National Security Advisor
Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan was born in November 1976 in Burlington, Vermont. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies and political science from Yale University. He won a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Magdalen College, Oxford, England, where he earned a Master of Philosophy in international relations. He returned to Yale and earned a juris doctor from Yale Law School. He clerked at the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and later for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
He taught law as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, and engaged in the private practice of law in Minneapolis.
During the presidency of Barack Obama, Sullivan worked as deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and then as Director of Policy Planning. He often traveled with her. He became Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden. He left that administration to teach at Yale Law School.
He returned to private practice, later joining the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire as a faculty member and senior fellow. He served on an advisory council for Microsoft. Shortly after the 2020 election, President-elect Joe Biden announced that Sullivan would be his National Security Adviser.
Sullivan is married to Margaret Goodlander.
In the News…
President Biden’s national security advisor warned that the Islamic State is a threat to the United States as the military continues to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
During an interview, Jake Sullivan said, “It is something we’re focused on, with every tool in our arsenal. Our commanders on the ground have a wide variety of capabilities that they’re using to defend the airfield against a potential terrorist attack. We’re working hard with our intelligence community to try to isolate and determine where an attack might come from.”
Mr. Sullivan added, “It is something that we are placing paramount priority on stopping or disrupting, and we’ll do everything that we can as long as we’re on the ground to keep that from happening, but we are taking it absolutely deadly seriously.”
The Islamic State affiliate ISIS Khorasan, its branch in Afghanistan (also called ISIS-K), often tries to recruit Taliban defectors to join its ranks.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Mr. Sullivan today? You can let him know at:
Mr. Jake Sullivan
National Security Adviser
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20550
