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Mike Needham, a close collaborator of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was promoted on Tuesday to the position of assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor at the White House, as reported by Axios.
The appointment transfers one of Rubio's most trusted aides from the State Department directly to the heart of the U.S. national security apparatus, further consolidating the secretary of state's influence within the Trump administration.
It is one of the most important positions at a time when the government of Donald Trump is facing serious challenges in foreign policy.
Needham replaces Robert Gabriel, whom the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, described last week as "a trusted confidant and a dear friend to me and his colleagues at the White House."
According to Axios, Needham maintains good relations at the White House, even with Vice President JD Vance's team.
"Everyone likes Mike. He understands politics. He understands policy," said a senior official in the administration.
For his part, Marco Rubio stated that Needham has been a key player in the successes of President Trump's foreign policy.
"In his new role as Deputy National Security Advisor, Mike will continue to implement the President's 'America First' agenda and solidify the historic legacy of Trump's National Security Council," he affirmed.
Needham has a years-long background with Rubio. He served as the chief of staff in the Senate from April 2018 to June 2023, and when Trump won the 2024 election, he was appointed advisor to the Department of State to directly counsel Rubio, a position that did not require Senate confirmation.
Since September 15, 2025, Needham also served as the director of the Policy Planning Office at the Department of State, a position from which he acted as Rubio's chief foreign policy strategist.
Before his time alongside the current Secretary of State, Needham was the founder and first CEO of Heritage Action for America, the political advocacy arm of the Heritage Foundation, a position he held since 2010. In June 2023, he founded America 2100, an organization dedicated to foreign policy.
The rise of Needham occurs in a context of unprecedented power accumulation by Rubio within the administration. In May 2025, Trump appointed Rubio as interim National Security Advisor, while simultaneously keeping him as Secretary of State, a dual role that granted him control over the National Security Council.
Under this dual role, Rubio led a massive restructuring of the National Security Council in which over 100 officials were placed on administrative leave.
The position that Needham is taking on is one of the highest ranks in the national security apparatus of the White House. Other deputy national security advisors in the Trump administration have included Alex Wong and Robert Gabriel Jr., and in May 2026, Andrew Baker was also appointed to that role.
Starting now, Dan Holler, current chief of staff for Rubio, will take over Needham's position and will serve as the interim director of policy planning. Holler worked with Needham in Rubio's Senate office and previously at Heritage Action.
Matt Rhodes, currently the chief of staff of the counselor, will take Holler's position as chief of staff at the State Department.
Rubio, who was confirmed as Secretary of State by the Senate in January 2025, becoming the first Latino to hold that position, has been building a team of loyalists in key positions throughout the entire structure of U.S. security and foreign policy.
Needham's appointment as deputy National Security advisor represents the latest step in that consolidation, placing a veteran of the conservative right with roots in the Heritage Foundation in one of the most influential offices in Washington.
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