The White House’s attempt to appoint a senior Africa director has fallen apart for the third time, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Col. Jean-Philippe Peltier, a career intelligence officer who was born in Chad and raised across Francophone Africa, had been lined up for the top Africa role. But he will no longer be joining the White House after failing to reach an agreement on housing compensation terms, according to two of the sources.
The White House’s previous candidates were Joe Foltz, a Republican congressional aide, and John Tomaszewski, a senior aide of Republican Senator Jim Risch, chair of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee.
So far the White House’s Africa team includes two Africa directors who have military experience — Brendan McNamara and Dan Dunham. The latest news on the appointment process comes as reports suggest that US President Donald Trump is considering folding United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) into its European counterpart.
A White House spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.