President Trump will soon announce that Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan will be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia, a senior administration official confirmed to Fox News Friday. Fox News reported in August that Trump intended to nominate Sullivan. The Wall Street Journal first reported Friday that Moscow agreed to accredit Sullivan -- a precursor to a formal nomination. He briefly led the State Department in the period between former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s dismissal in March 2018 and Mike Pompeo’s swearing-in the following month. During the administration of President George W. Bush, Sullivan served as deputy general counsel to the State Department before moving on to the role of general counsel at the Department of Commerce.

Source: Fox News October 11, 2019 16:07 UTC