The deputy national security adviser is being reassigned to another role in the Trump administration despite White House denials of speculation that she’s the unknown official who wrote a New York Times op-ed and book critical of President Trump.
Victoria Coates will be a senior adviser to Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, the National Security Council announced Thursday, according to Axios.
Coates and the author’s agents have both denied she is “Anonymous,” the author of the tell-all book, A Warning. The White House is also pushing back on the rumor.
“The White House leadership rejects rumors that have circulated recently and does not put any stock in the suggestion that Victoria Coates is the author of A Warning or the related op-ed in the New York Times,” a senior administration official told Axios.
“Dr. Coates’ transition to the Department of Energy has been in the works for several weeks and reflects the continued trust and confidence the administration places in her as she takes on this sensitive role at the Department of Energy, where she will continue working to implement the president’s agenda,” the official added.
National security adviser Robert O’Brien said he was sad to lose Coates but added that she would be a “big asset” to the Energy Department.
“She has served the president loyally since the earliest days of the administration and has played a valued role in the president’s Middle East policy,” O’Brien said.
