The fact tha James Jeffrey joined the administration as the special representative for Syria engagement was noteworthy in part because the president had initially blacklisted so-called Never Trumpers.

| Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Foreign Policy Former Trump critic promoted to top anti-ISIS job Some had expected James Jeffrey, who landed an administration post last year despite signing a 'Never Trump' letter, to resign over the president's planned Syria pullout. Instead he has taken on a second job.

A veteran diplomat who some expected to resign after President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria last month will instead take on a broader portfolio, the State Department announced Friday.

James Jeffrey, who oversees America’s engagement with other nations on Syrian issues, will now also serve as Trump’s special envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State. He takes on the second role amid widespread confusion about the status of Trump’s plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, where they have been fighting militants of the Islamic State, a terrorist group also known as ISIS.


The last envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, Brett McGurk, resigned in protest over Trump’s Syria decision last month. His departure, as well as that of Defense Secretary James Mattis, came amid bipartisan backlash to the president’s plan.

In the weeks since Trump’s mid-December announcement, the president has dialed back the idea of an immediate withdrawal. Trump aides now say the drawdown could span four months. On Friday, a senior State Department official added to the confusion by saying there is no timeline.

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“With this additional responsibility, Ambassador Jeffrey will lead and coordinate U.S. Department of State relations with the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS and department efforts to implement President Trump’s announcement of a responsible U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria that is coordinated with our global allies and partners consistent with U.S. goals for Syria and Iraq, including the enduring defeat of ISIS,” State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a statement announcing Jeffrey’s new role.

Jeffrey had a long diplomatic career prior to the Trump administration, serving as an ambassador in places such as Iraq and Turkey. He was among national security experts who signed “Never Trump” statements denouncing the then-candidate for the White House.

The fact that Jeffrey joined the administration as the special representative for Syria engagement was noteworthy in part because the president had initially blacklisted so-called Never Trumpers.

Just days before Trump announced his decision to remove troops, Jeffrey had made an appearance at a think tank in which he laid out a Syria strategy that indicated an indefinite U.S. commitment.

Although some foreign policy insiders thought Jeffrey would quit after Trump’s decision, he has hung on and may prove key to efforts to slow down the withdrawal of troops. He will join national security adviser John Bolton on a trip to Turkey and Israel in the coming days meant in part to explain and manage Trump’s withdrawal plan.

Critics of a troop pullout say it is premature because the Islamic State, though much weakened, has not been vanquished, and that leaving now allows Iranian forces to gain even more influence in war-torn Syria.

"ISIS is on the run, but it is not yet defeated," McGurk wrote in an email to his team announcing his resignation. McGurk had originally been planning to leave at some point in early 2019, but accelerated his departure in protest of Trump’s decision.

Jeffrey takes his second position effective immediately, the State Department said. The coalition to defeat the Islamic State has around 80 members, each contributing different military and other strengths in the effort to eliminate the terrorist group from Iraq and Syria.