Amanda Sloat, the architect of U.S. President Joe Biden’s Europe policy, is ending her time at the National Security Council, leaving the administration amid deep uncertainties about Ukraine’s future.
Sloat has been a quiet but key figure of the Biden administration’s efforts to mend relationships with traditional allies and counter Russia. From the transition team to her current role as senior director for European affairs, she drafted key pillars of the new team’s transatlantic strategy and accompanied Biden on eight trips to Europe, including for five NATO summits and two EU summits. She was also the driving force behind elevating the “Bucharest Nine,” a group of Eastern European NATO countries brought together to steel the region.
U.S. officials say that her efforts serving a transatlanticist president are a main reason why relations with Europe markedly improved. But after being in the hottest of hot seats for so long, Sloat is looking to cool it.
“It has been an amazing three years, but it’s time. I’m tired,” she told POLITICO’s National Security Daily in a Thursday interview confirming her departure. Sloat will be in Chicago with her family for Thanksgiving — her brother-in-law, a professional chef, will contribute to the feast — before traveling to India to focus on yoga and Ayurveda. She’s looking forward to not thinking about or being in Europe for a while. Sloat, who’s last day is next Friday, intends to be back from travel in January, refreshed and ready for her still-unclear next challenge.
Sloat’s tenure at the NSC was dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
She spent months on little sleep coordinating a response with European allies and warning Ukrainian counterparts that Russian President Vladimir Putin planned for a full-scale assault. U.S. officials have said Sloat ensured the transatlantic response was aligned and robust, leading to billions in military and economic support for Kyiv.
Not everyone is happy with the administration’s policy. They contend more advanced weaponry should have been sent to Kyiv in the war’s earliest days, pointing to Ukraine’s sputtering counteroffensive this year as evidence. And they also questioned the wisdom of the U.S. allowing the construction of the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline to finish, a decision that Germany reversed after the war started.
Sloat went through some challenging moments. Administration officials have said that she, like many of her coworkers, were caught off guard by the U.S.-U.K.-Australia nuclear submarine deal known as AUKUS. Officials said that Sloat was incensed by being left out of the loop as the agreement came together. After the arrangement was announced, she had to field angry calls from France, which saw its own sub pact with Australia scrapped.
She handled the situation well, colleagues said, and French President Emmanuel Macron later went to the White House for a state visit.
Sloat leaves at a precarious time. Continued support for Kyiv is in doubt not only in the U.S. but also in Europe, where some leaders contend there’s no use in providing more military aid when a Ukrainian victory isn’t assured. Her departure follows other top NSC officials, such as Russia lead Eric Green, leading some administration officials to fear too much institutional memory is walking out the door.
Sloat doesn’t see it that way: “We have a lot of people across the interagency who remain in place, and I’ve got a strong team here that has been working on these issues for a while.”
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had nothing but praise for Sloat.
“Amanda has been an invaluable part of the president’s team since even before day one, when she triaged the congratulatory calls coming in from leaders around the world. We have relied on her expertise and counsel every day since, especially her leadership in rebuilding transatlantic unity and galvanizing unprecedented support for Ukraine,” he said in a statement.
