Story highlights She was previously Trump's senior counselor for economic initiatives

Powell will focus on long-term planning for the National Security Council

(CNN) Dina Powell, President Donald Trump's senior counselor for economic initiatives, is switching roles at the White House and will named deputy national security adviser for strategy, a senior administration official tells CNN.

Powell, a former executive at Goldman Sachs, will work closely with K.T. McFarland, who has been the acting deputy for strategy. Though some national security experts speculated that McFarland would leave following Michael Flynn's ouster as national security adviser earlier this year, a senior administration official said that she will remain.

The Cairo-born, Dallas-raised Powell first came on board Trump's team after advising his daughter, Ivanka, on women's empowerment issues, helping her foster relationships with business executives over multiple dinner parties focused on women in the workplace during the presidential transition and after the inauguration.

At 29, Powell was the youngest-ever assistant to the president for presidential personnel, heading up all of the George W. Bush White House's decisions on appointments.

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