AP Photo Trump names longtime attorney to be international negotiator

President-elect Donald Trump has named his longtime attorney Jason Greenblatt, who also has advised him on Israel, to the position of “special representative for international negotiations.”

It was not immediately clear whether Greenblatt’s position would be based at the White House or within a Cabinet agency and what exactly would be his mandate. It was also unclear whether it will dovetail or clash with the office of the U.S. Trade Representative or the work done by other U.S. negotiators on a range of issues.

The decision to appoint Greenblatt was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday. In a statement confirming the appointment Tuesday, Trump said Greenblatt would be “assisting on international negotiations of all types, and trade deals around the world.”

Greenblatt is the chief legal officer and an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, and he has spent two decades at Trump’s side, advising him on a range of business and legal affairs, both domestic and international.

“Jason is one of my closest and most trusted advisers,” Trump said. “He has a history of negotiating substantial, complex transactions on my behalf, as well as the expertise to bring parties together and build consensus on difficult and sensitive topics.”

In the same statement, Greenblatt expressed gratitude to the incoming Republican president for the opportunity.

“My philosophy, in both business and in life, is that bringing people together and working to unite, rather than to divide, is the strongest path to success,” he said. “I truly believe that this approach is one that can yield results for the United States in matters all over the world.”

Greenblatt is among a handful of conservative, pro-Israel activists who have pushed Trump to the right on issues regarding the Jewish-majority state.

In the past week, Trump broke with custom and weighed in on a sensitive foreign policy issue facing current President Barack Obama: He demanded Obama veto a U.N. resolution criticizing Israeli settlements in land claimed by Palestinians. The Obama administration abstained instead, allowing the resolution to pass, and angering Israel and Trump.

Greenblatt is a graduate of the New York University School of Law. The announcement about his new position noted that he had founded a website aimed at promoting bonding between parents and teenagers.