Rubio Aide Named State Department’s Europe Official

The U.S. State Department has named Brendan Hanrahan, a business consultant and former member of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Senate staff, as its senior bureau official for European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR), according to an update on the department’s website Friday.

Hanrahan, who previously served as a policy adviser for the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship under Rubio, most recently worked as an investor at a private U.S. firm. He replaces Louis Bono, a career foreign service officer who held the role since President Donald Trump took office in January.

The department’s website did not specify whether Hanrahan has prior foreign policy experience.

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The appointment comes as the Trump administration navigates strained relations with Europe over NATO spending disputes, a controversial bid to acquire Greenland, and efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In an internal email seen by Reuters, Bono praised Hanrahan’s private-sector and Senate experience, stating he is “well poised to lead the bureau through the reorganization and to successfully advance the Secretary’s agenda throughout Europe and beyond.”

The move aligns with a broader State Department overhaul aimed at streamlining operations and advancing Trump’s “America First” policy. Earlier this week, Rubio announced plans to cut departmental staff by 15% and eliminate over 100 bureaus and offices worldwide.

The senior bureau official (SBO) role is typically an interim position filled when no Senate-confirmed assistant secretary is in place. It remains unclear whether Hanrahan’s appointment is temporary or long-term.