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National Security
The NSA is ‘moving forward’ to install Michael Ellis, a former GOP operative, as its top lawyer, the agency said Sunday
The NSA said it will install former GOP political operative Michael Ellis as its general counsel, a day after the acting Pentagon chief ordered the NSA head to do so. (Patrick Semansky/AP)
By
Ellen Nakashima
Jan. 17, 2021 at 10:09 a.m. MST
The National Security Agency is “moving forward” to install Michael Ellis, a former GOP political operative and White House official, as the agency’s top lawyer, the agency said Sunday.
The announcement came a day after Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller ordered the NSA director, Gen. Paul Nakasone, to immediately place Ellis in position as the agency’s general counsel.
Acting defense secretary orders NSA head to immediately install former GOP operative as agency’s top lawyer
Ellis had been selected for the job in November by the Pentagon general counsel after a civil service competition. But Nakasone was not in favor of Ellis’ selection and sought to delay his installation, according to several people familiar with the issue, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
Though Nakasone is not the hiring authority — the decision is made by the Pentagon general counsel — by tradition the NSA director weighs in on the selection.
“Mr. Ellis accepted his final job offer yesterday afternoon,” the NSA said in a statement Sunday. “NSA is moving forward with his employment.”
The Pentagon declined to comment.
Ellis was selected under pressure from the White House, people familiar with the matter said at the time. The move drew criticism from national security legal experts as an attempt to politicize a career position.
White House official and former GOP political operative named as NSA general counsel
It comes just a few days before President Trump leaves office, and complicates the Biden administration’s options for immediately replacing him, former officials said.
There have also been concerns about Ellis’s qualifications for the job, according to several people. One individual said that those issues included the possibility that he was picked over candidates who scored higher during the interview process.