President Donald Trump is losing a top national security adviser as the Iran war intensifies and fresh attacks rattle America’s allies near the Strait of Hormuz.
White House deputy national security adviser Andy Baker, a longtime ally of Vice President JD Vance, is expected to leave the Trump administration within weeks, Axios reported.
Baker’s abrupt exit follows the resignation of press secretary Karoline Leavitt just days earlier, adding to the upheaval inside the White House as Tehran targets commercial shipping and threatens a waterway crucial to the global oil trade.
A central player in Trump’s foreign policy operation for the past 18 months, Baker helped shape the administration’s Iran strategy and advised the president on maintaining the blockade against the Islamic Republic. He also earned a reputation as a hard-liner on China.
Baker had a major role in the now-frozen peace negotiations with Iran, including helping draft the Memorandum of Understanding signed in June.
Tehran later abandoned the agreement and began attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage responsible for carrying about one-fifth of the world’s oil.
The latest assault came Thursday night, when the regime unleashed explosive suicide drones against two oil tankers operated by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil company in the Persian Gulf.
The vessels suffered minor damage, and no casualties were reported. The United Arab Emirates nevertheless blasted the attack as piracy and warned that it endangered global energy security.
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Shipping traffic through the strategic passage remains dramatically below prewar levels while Iran claims control over the strait.
Just nine commodity vessels traveled through the waterway Thursday, according to shipping data. The daily average was 12 in August. Before the war, more than 100 vessels crossed the strait each day.
The turmoil has created a persistent political and economic problem for Trump, with Americans still confronting elevated gas prices and inflation as the crisis surrounding Hormuz drags on.
Baker has reportedly told associates that he wants to spend more time with his family. He also said he remained in the administration longer than originally planned to help oversee an orderly transition, according to Axios.
“This has been an amazing journey. I’m proud of everything we’ve achieved and, of course, am incredibly grateful to the President, Vice President, and Secretary Rubio,” Baker told Axios.
Baker started his career at the State Department before becoming then-Sen. Vance’s national security adviser. He later followed Vance into the White House after Trump returned to power.
Vance personally hailed his departing aide after news of the resignation broke.
“Andy is an exceptionally gifted, deeply thoughtful advisor who has served the President and me with distinction.
“He has been an indispensable member of our administration’s national security team.”
Baker’s departure leaves Trump without one of the administration’s leading architects of its Iran policy at a volatile moment, as attacks in the Persian Gulf squeeze shipping traffic and keep pressure on energy prices back home.
