After Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s another close aide ready to leave White House

WASHINGTON, DC: After Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced her resignation, citing that she wanted to focus on raising her children, White House deputy national security adviser Andy Baker is leaving the Trump administration in the coming weeks.

White House faces a fresh shake-up as Baker marks the latest departure from President Trump’s national security team.

Baker has been involved in the administration’s foreign policy decisions and was also part of the US delegation to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran, where US and Iranian officials faced each other for face-to-face talks.

Earlier, Baker served as the national security adviser for Vice President JD Vance.

“This has been an amazing journey. I’m proud of everything we’ve achieved and, of course, am incredibly grateful to the President, Vice President, and Secretary Rubio,” Baker said in a statement to Axios.

Baker to join Trump’s former security adviser in private sector

After his service in White House, Andy Baker’s next move involves private sector, where he will join President Donald Trump’s national security adviser during his first term, Robert O’Brien, the outlet reported.

According to a report by The Washington Post, Baker will be working for a consulting firm, America Global Strategies, owned by O’Brien.

Baker has kept a relatively low profile in the White House while pushing for a more restrained US foreign policy approach.

He has also questioned prolonged US involvement in overseas conflicts and played a key role in shaping the administration’s National Security Strategy, Politico reported.

Vance calls Baker ‘exceptionally gifted and thoughtful’

Vance praised Baker as an “exceptionally gifted, deeply thoughtful” adviser. 

“He has been an indispensable member of our administration’s national security team,” Vance said in a statement to Axios. “For over three years that Andy has been by my side, I’ve always valued his counsel and have been grateful for the difficult work he’s done.”

A former State Department Foreign Service officer, Baker joined Vance’s Senate office in 2023 as a national security adviser before following him to the White House.

White House security team undergoes major change

Baker’s departure comes at a moment when several White House officials saw changes in their security team.

Early this summer, Baker was replaced by Cliff Sims as Vance’s national security adviser, who will remain in his position.

Besides, Mike Needham, a longtime ally of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, joined the White House in May as a deputy national security adviser.

Needham told Axios that Baker was “a brilliant foreign policy mind and close friend.”

Trump slashed half of its staff last year as part of a restructuring process.