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Victoria Nuland

Victoria Nuland, a non-lawyer, is a Senior Advisor in the Public Policy practice. She is also the Shelby Cullom Davis Professor in the Practice of International Diplomacy at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and a board member of the National Endowment for Democracy. She is a retired Career Ambassador in the U.S. diplomatic service, with 35 years of experience in foreign policy and international strategy, negotiation, media and management at the Department of State and the White House. Toria served six U.S. Presidents and 10 Secretaries of State of both political parties.

Until March 2024, Toria served as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs where she oversaw and managed the work of all six regional bureaus at the Department of State and the counter-terrorism bureau, addressing complex crises in Ukraine, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, and worked to broaden and strengthening America’s alliances and partnerships across the globe. Between July 2023 and February 2024, Toria served concurrently as Acting Deputy Secretary of State and added China policy to her portfolio.

From 2019 to 2021, she was a Senior Advisor at the Albright Stonebridge Group, an international commercial diplomacy firm. She was also professor of practice at Yale University and a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

At the State Department, Toria served as Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2013 to 2017 under President Barack Obama and Secretary John Kerry. She was State Department Spokesperson during Secretary Hillary Clinton’s tenure from 2011-2013, and Special Envoy and Chief Negotiator on the Treaty on Conventional Arms Control in Europe from 2010-2011.

During George W. Bush’s presidency, Toria served as U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to NATO from 2005- 2008. Prior to this appointment, she was Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President from 2003- 2005.

Toria joined the State Department's Foreign Service in 1984. In addition to two tours at NATO in Brussels, Toria served overseas in Moscow, Russia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Guangzhou China, and also had many assignments in Washington. She has a BA in history from Brown University.

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President Trump recently issued two separate Executive Orders (EOs) that will have implications for how federal agencies seek to promote the administration’s goal of attracting domestic and foreign investment to industrial projects in the United States, with particular implications for the semiconductor and critical minerals industries. 

  1. An EO on March 31st establishes an “Investment Accelerator” office within the Department of Commerce that will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the CHIPS Program—including the negotiation of agreements under the CHIPS Act.  This office will also provide technical and regulatory support for investors, and seek to facilitate research collaborations between private industry and national labs. 
  2. An earlier EO issued on March 20th seeks to mobilize federal lending and leasing authorities at the Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and other federal agencies to support the development of domestic critical mineral projects.  Per an accompanying fact sheet, the White House is taking a broad interpretation of covered minerals under this March 20th Order and will seek to include materials such as coal. 

Both EOs are notable efforts by the White House to align federal spending and financial assistance programs with the Trump Administration’s priorities, which have variously included calls to promote self-sufficiency in critical materials and promoting “energy independence” and “energy dominance.”  These efforts come against a backdrop under which the Administration is also pursuing the use of tariffs to promote U.S. manufacturing, and taking steps to review and in some cases modify or terminate infrastructure or energy-related grants from the Biden-era.  More details are provided below.  Continue Reading Trump Administration Issues Executive Orders that Seek to Shape CHIPS Program and Promote Domestic Mineral Production