Trump nominates longtime advisor Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Keith Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general, to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
Kellogg, 80, is one of the architects of a staunchly conservative policy book that lays out an “America first†national security agenda for the incoming administration. His nomination comes as Russia’s war on Ukraine nears the three-year mark.
Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social account, and said of Kellogg: “He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!â€
President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin share some traits and want some of the same things. But a chasm divides them.
Kellogg, who has long been Trump’s top advisor on defense issues, served as national security advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence, was chief of staff of the National Security Council and then stepped in as an acting security advisor for Trump after Michael Flynn resigned.
As special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Kellogg will have to navigate an increasingly untenable war between the two nations.
The Biden administration has begun urging Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by drafting more troops and revamping its mobilization laws to allow for the conscription of troops as young as 18.
The White House has dispersed more than $56 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s February 2022 full invasion and expects to send billions more before President Biden leaves office.
Trump has criticized the billions of dollars that the Biden administration has poured into Ukraine. Washington has recently stepped up weapons shipments and has forgiven billions in loans provided to the government in Kyiv.
The Republican president-elect, who has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “genius,†has claimed he could end the war in 24 hours, comments that appear to suggest he would press Ukraine to surrender its territory that Russia now occupies.
Ukrainians fear Trump will cut off military aid for the war against Russia, even as Ukraine’s leader aims to win him over with congratulations and praise.
As a co-chairman of the American First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security, Kellogg wrote several chapters in the group’s policy book. The book, like the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, is a move to lay out a Trump national security agenda and avoid the mistakes of 2016 when he entered the White House largely unprepared.
Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.â€
Kellogg figured in multiple Trump investigations during his first term. He was among the administration officials who listened in on the July 2019 call between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in which Trump, using aid to Kyiv as leverage, pressured his Ukrainian counterpart to do “a favor†and pursue investigations into the Bidens. The call, which Kellogg would later say did not raise any concerns on his end, led to Trump’s first impeachment.
On Jan. 6, 2021, hours before pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Kellogg, then Pence’s national security advisor, listened in on a heated call in which Trump told his vice president to object or delay the certification in Congress of Biden’s election victory. Trump’s role in the Capitol attack resulted in his second impeachment.
Kellogg later told House investigators that he recalled Trump saying to Pence words to the effect of: “You’re not tough enough to make the call.â€
Associated Press writers Baldor reported from Washington and Hussein from West Palm Beach. AP writer Eric Tucker and Times staff contributed to this report.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
