President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 18, 2019

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts   Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration: John Jefferson Daigle of Louisiana, to be the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Cabo Verde. Mr. Daigle is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor.  He currently serves on detail as the Designated Federal Official for the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.  Previously, Mr. Daigle served as the Executive Assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Deputy Coordinator in the Bureau of International Information Programs, Deputy Chief of Mission in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and as Public Diplomacy Officer on the Babil Provincial Reconstruction Team in Iraq.  Mr. Daigle earned his B.A. from Louisiana State University.  He is the recipient of the Secretary’s Expeditionary Service Award and his language studies include French, Khmer, and Portuguese. Christopher Landau of Maryland, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the United Mexican States.  Mr. Landau is a constitutional and appellate attorney who has briefed and argued appeals before the United States Supreme Court, Federal courts of appeals, and State appellate courts.  He is a partner in the law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and previously headed the appellate litigation practice at the firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.  In 2017, the Chief Justice appointed Mr. Landau to a three-year term as a member of the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Landau was a law clerk for United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and then for Justice Clarence Thomas.  Mr. Landau earned his A.B. degree, summa cum laude, from Harvard College, where he received a Certificate in Latin American Studies, and his J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.  He is fluent in Spanish. Bridget A. Brink of Michigan,  to be the Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Slovak Republic. Ms. Brink, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the Department of State.  During more than 20 years in the Foreign Service, Ms. Brink has advanced U.S. policy in Europe and Eurasia, including as Deputy Chief of Mission in Tbilisi, Georgia, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Brink led policy coordination for the Aegean region (Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus) and the Caucasus at the National Security Council.  Ms. Brink earned a B.A. from Kenyon College and two M.Sc. degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science.  Ms. Brink speaks Russian and Serbian as well as basic Georgian and French. Matthew S. Klimow of Virginia, to be the Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Turkmenistan. Mr. Klimow, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, currently serves as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary for Management at the Department of State. Previously, Mr. Klimow served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium, and as a United States Army officer from 1974 to 2003, retiring with the rank of colonel.  His military assignments included Special Advisor to the Vice President of the United States and Executive Assistant to the Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mr. Klimow also served as a Combat Task Force Operations Officer during Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Senior Advisor in the Bureau of the Director General and Human Resources and in the Office of Overseas Employment, Executive Director of the Bureaus of Administration and Information Resource Management, Director of Language Services, and Executive Director of the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the Department of State. He earned his B.S. at the United States Military Academy in West Point and M.A. from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, as well as a Master of Military Art and Science at the United States Army Command and General Staff College.  Mr. Klimow speaks French.