MARGARET PETERLIN
Chief of Staff
2017-2018
HOW THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BROKE THE STATE DEPARTMENT
July 31, 2017
The plans to bolster the policy planning staff reflect Tillerson’s reliance on a close coterie of advisors, closing himself off from the rest of the department. Top among them are his enigmatic chief of staff, Margaret Peterlin, and his director of policy planning, Brian Hook, a mainstream Republican who worked in the State Department and the White House during the George W. Bush administration.
“The seventh floor has walled itself off with Brian Hook, Margaret Peterlin, and some others,” a senior foreign service officer told FP, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Some people get through the wall, but it’s few and far between.”
More than one official referred to them as the “praetorian guard.”
Apart from Hook, none of Tillerson’s top confidants has ever served in the department.
‘IS THIS ONE … WHO REFUSED TO SHAKE HIS HAND?’ LEAKED EMAILS FOCUS ON POLITICAL VETTING ALLEGATIONS AT STATE
And of the official being scrutinized by the new administration, an Iran expert who had worked in government since the George W. Bush administration, Ciccone asked, “Is this person one of the four who refused to shake [Tillerson’s] hand the first day he started?”
Tillerson’s chief of staff Margaret Peterlin also forwarded the same article.
February 19, 2019
TRUMP OFFICIALS PENALIZED STATE DEPT EMPLOYEE OVER PERCEIVED NATIONALITY, OUTSIDE MEDIA ATTACKS: IG
November 14, 2019
"Employee One" is Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, as confirmed by ABC News, a career civil servant removed early from her high-level position on the department's Policy Planning staff after officials said she was born in Iran and was an "Obama/Clinton loyalist" that "did not belong" in her position, according to the report. In particular, an article from the online outlet Conservative Review that maligned Nowrouzzadeh was sent around on four separate email chains, including one forwarded by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to Margaret Peterlin, chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.