Blinken appoints former diplomat to oversee presidential transition within State Department

Washington, Nov 8
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has appointed Stephen Mull, a former diplomat who has served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, to oversee the transition from President Joe Biden's administration to that of President-elect Donald Trump within the State Department, the department said.

"Ambassador Mull will work with the President-elect's team to ensure as successful a transition as possible," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a regular news briefing on Thursday.

Mull's most recent position at the State Department was as the Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, which he served for a short period of nearly three months between early June and late August 2018 during Trump's first presidential term, Xinhua news agency reported.

Prior, Mull was the US ambassador to Poland from 2012 to 2015 during the second administration of Barack Obama.

"The peaceful transfer of power is an essential element of our democracy that is vital to our nation's security," Miller said.

"That's why it's so important for us to conduct a smooth, efficient, and professional transition process."

Mull already started his work on behalf of the State Department, which involved "attending meetings, getting ready to coordinate the process," Miller said, adding that the department has yet to receive contact made by the Trump transition team due to the fact that there's a process that the team will have to go through.

According to a Wednesday report by CNN, Brian Hook, former US special representative for Iran during the first Trump administration, was tapped as Mull's counterpart on the Trump transition team.

Coincidentally, Hook's job in the former Trump administration was preceded exactly by Mull, under whose charge the post was named Coordinator for Iran Nuclear Implementation.

Mull served in that role from 2015 to 2017, describing it in a January interview with Xinhua as "one of the hardest jobs I had as an American diplomat".

After leaving the federal government, Mull joined the University of Virginia in 2018 and was named the university's Vice Provost for Global Affairs.