The Biden U.S. State Department announced on Thursday the agency’s transition to the Trump administration will be coordinated by Stephen Mull, a former longtime State Department official who most recently served as the lead coordinator for the Iran nuclear deal reached under former President Barack Obama, and who is now the provost for the University of Virginia (UVA).
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed Mull was appointed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to lead the agency’s transition in a press conference. He told reporters the agency views a “peaceful transition of power” as an “essential part of our democracy that is vital to our nation’s security.”
Describing Mull (pictured above) as a “distinguished member of the State Department,” Miller noted the UVA official was formerly an ambassador, nodding to his retirement title as a career ambassador and multiple stints as ambassador, including as the U.S. ambassador to Poland from 2012 until 2015, but did not reference Mull’s work for the Obama administration’s implementation of its controversial Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or Iran nuclear deal.
Critics have argued the Iran nuclear deal empowered a foreign adversary with little gain to the United States. In 2020, a United Nations agency reported Iran violated every restriction the Obama administration imposed under the deal.
After the October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel and its citizens, critics have cited the $400 million in cash sent to Iran under Obama, as well as a $6 billion payment for the return of American citizens and a $10 billion sanctions waiver offered to Iran under President Joe Biden, as key to the country’s ability to finance terrorists in nearby nations.
The archive of the Obama administration’s website for the State Department confirms Mull held the title of lead coordinator for Iran Nuclear Implementation beginning in 2015 but explains that he served the State Department throughout the former president’s tenure.
“At the beginning of the Obama administration, he led and exercised the authorities of the Office of the Under Secretary for International Security Affairs and Arms Control pending the arrival of a permanent Under Secretary,” according to the archived website.
While the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) generally handles the transition between presidential administrations, the agency’s website suggests Mull will serve on a Agency Transition Directors Council in order to facilitate governance under President-elect Donald Trump.
The State Department spokesman claimed the department has been preparing for a transition in governments for some time in his Thursday remarks.
“What we do before the team is appointed – and we are doing this to get ready for either a Trump transition or a Harris transition – is to put together briefing materials, both on policy and procedures, and to get them ready and to try to anticipate questions that the incoming transition team will have and be ready to answer those as soon as they have an agency review team that comes into the building,” said Miller.
While the Biden-Harris administration prepares for the incoming president, Trump rapidly announces key administration figures.
These include former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Tom Homan as “border czar,” former Trump campaign speechwriter and America First Legal founder Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policy, and Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) as ambassador to the United Nations.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
