New York Times
Rice to Replace Donilon in the Top National Security Post
By Mark Landler
June 5, 2013 

WASHINGTON — President Obama announced on Wednesday afternoon that Susan E. Rice, the American ambassador to the United Nations, would replace Tom Donilon, who is resigning, as national security adviser in a major shakeup of his foreign-policy inner circle.

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The appointment, which Mr. Obama made in a Rose Garden ceremony, puts Ms. Rice, 48, an outspoken diplomat and a close political ally, at the heart of the administration’s foreign-policy apparatus. 

It is also a defiant gesture to Republicans who harshly criticized Ms. Rice for presenting an erroneous account of the deadly attacks on the American mission in Benghazi, Libya. The post of national security adviser, while powerful, does not require Senate confirmation. 

In his announcement, Mr. Obama referred to Ms. Rice’s role as an adviser during his 2008 presidential campaign and praised her work as a key diplomat during his first term. 

“With her background as a scholar, Susan understands that there’s no substitute for American leadership,” Mr. Obama said. “She is at once passionate and pragmatic. I think everybody understands Susan is a fierce champion for justice and human dignity, but she’s also mindful that we have to exercise our power wisely and deliberately.” 

Mr. Obama also named Samantha Power, a National Security Council official, as Ms. Rice’s replacement at the United Nations. Ms. Power, who has written extensively about genocide, is closely allied with Ms. Rice on human rights issues. 

In his statement, Mr. Obama cited Ms. Power’s work with Ms. Rice on issues related to the United Nations. 

“She knows the U.N.'s strengths. She knows its weaknesses," Mr. Obama said. "She knows that American interests are advanced when we can rally the world to our side. And she knows that we have to stand up for the things that we believe in. And to ensure that we have the principled leadership we need at the United Nations, I would strongly urge the Senate to confirm her without delay.” 

Mr. Donilon, 58, a central member of Mr. Obama’s foreign-policy team since he first took office, has exerted sweeping influence, mostly behind the scenes, on issues from counterterrorism to the reorientation of America to Asia from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

“Tom’s that rare combination of the strategic and the tactical. He has a strategic sense of where we need to go, and he has a tactical sense of how to get there,” Mr. Obama said in his announcement. “He’s helped shape every single national security policy of my presidency, from forging a new national security strategy rooted in our economic strength here at home to ending the war in Iraq.” 

Among Mr. Donilon’s last big projects was negotiating the highly unusual informal meeting between Mr. Obama and President Xi Jinping of China on Friday at an estate in Southern California. Just back from talks in Beijing, he clearly took pride of ownership. 

“I don’t know when there was a broad meeting like this,” Mr. Donilon said in an interview. “For the last 40 years or so, these conversations have taken place in a more formal, scripted context.” 

But Mr. Donilon has also hit a rough patch recently, with the publication of an unflattering profile in Foreign Policy magazine that cast him as a sharp-elbowed infighter and a domineering boss who had strained relationships with colleagues, including his former deputy, Denis R. McDonough, now the White House chief of staff… 

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