Biden taps top aide on Asia affairs to serve as deputy secretary of State

President Biden on Wednesday nominated Kurt Campbell to serve as deputy secretary of State, putting his top Asia aide in a top spot as the administration grapples with raging conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.

Campbell has served as Biden’s coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs since the start of the administration, developing the White House’s Asia strategy with a priority on countering China’s influence.

Among the key efforts on that front were the creation of the Quad, a closer security arrangement with regional powers Australia, India and Japan, along with AUKUS, a nuclear submarine deal signed with Australia and the United Kingdom. The administration has also signed a military deal with the new president in the Philippines.

The moves have riled China, with relations bottoming out after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon in February. But the Biden administration has sought to restore dialogue with cabinet-level trips to China in recent months, and Xi Jinping is expected to meet with Biden in California later this month.

Campbell served as assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2009-13 during the Obama administration. He has also held roles in the White House and the Pentagon.

His nomination comes as the White House juggles several historic foreign policy challenges.

The administration is supporting Ukraine in its war against invading Russian forces, arguing a Ukrainian defeat would be a blow to democracies worldwide and could threaten to spiral into a broader conflict.

Biden has made a $106 billion supplemental spending request to Congress, which includes some $60 billion for Ukraine and more than $14 billion for Israel as it battles against Hamas following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israeli border communities.

But the House GOP has instead proposed pulling out the Israeli aid for a separate vote, along with cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, in a battle that will provide an early test of Biden’s relationship with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). The White House said Tuesday that Biden would veto the bill if it gets to him. The GOP’s Senate leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) also backs a joint Israel-Ukraine package.

There are growing concerns about a wider war in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Hamas massacre that left roughly 1,400 Israelis dead, and the pounding Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that have followed. The Israeli air assault has killed thousands of Palestinians and left thousands more injured.

While Secretary of State Antony Blinken has suggested a humanitarian pause in the fighting should be considered, the administration has not joined calls for a cease-fire and has argued that Israel is justified in its deadly response.