The White House’s top Europe expert, Charles McLaughlin, is expected to leave in the coming days as part of a personnel reshuffle that could give Secretary of State Marco Rubio tighter control over policymaking at the National Security Council.
The changes appear to be strengthening Rubio’s influence inside the NSC, with more of his allies taking key roles as the body regains some of its lost importance under President Donald Trump. McLaughlin’s departure comes amid broader turnover, including the exit of deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel and the move of Rubio aide Mike Needham into a senior NSC post.
European officials reportedly viewed McLaughlin as professional but were uneasy that he may have been more inclined to normalize ties with Russia than to pressure Moscow. The White House rejected that characterization, saying he had backed Trump’s agenda of pursuing peace in global conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war.
A White House official said he would return to the National Defense University, a Pentagon-funded university where he had been serving as a professor. He had been detailed from the NDU, and his detail was expiring in mid-June, the official said.
European officials have told Reuters they have generally liked McLaughlin on a personal level and described him as a fair professional, but many have also seen him as more interested in normalizing relations with Russia than in applying additional pressure on Moscow.
While the foreign policy implications of McLaughlin’s departure will ultimately depend on his replacement, some European officials are hoping for someone more hawkish toward Russia.
McLaughlin did not respond to a request for comment.
Following the publication of this article, the White House objected to the characterization of McLaughlin.
“Charles McLaughlin has only advocated for President Trump’s agenda to bring peace to world conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine War,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, adding that the European officials cited in this story “have no idea what they are talking about.”
NSC RESHUFFLE
His departure comes amid a broader reshuffle at the NSC, which has historically coordinated national security across the U.S. government but has played a diminished role during the second Trump administration.
In late May, Robert Gabriel, one of two deputy national security advisers and a close confidant to Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, left for the private sector. Last week, State Department counselor Mike Needham, one of Rubio’s most trusted aides, moved to the NSC to become a deputy national security adviser.
Among those in the running to replace McLaughlin, the sources said, is Chris Curran, another high-ranking Rubio aide, who has been directly involved in talks to settle Russia’s war in Ukraine, though no final decisions have been made and others are in the running. Curran, who is currently a member of the State Department’s Policy Planning staff, did not respond to a request for comment.
Under former President Joe Biden, the NSC served a central role in many important foreign policy decisions, so much so that some State Department and Pentagon officials privately complained about its primacy.
Its importance began to wane after Trump returned to office in January 2025 and purged NSC staff. In April of that year, he removed then-National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. Since then, Rubio has served in both the top diplomatic and national security roles, and most NSC staffers have been cut out of key decisions.
Needham, the new deputy national security adviser, is among those responsible for choosing McLaughlin’s replacement, one of the sources said. Two sources said they expected additional NSC departures in the coming weeks.