Derek Chollet served in the Obama administration for six years in senior positions at the White House, State Department, and Pentagon, most recently as the U.S. assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. Currently the executive vice president at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, his books include The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined America’s Role in the World, America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11 (co-written with James Goldgeier), and The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World (co-edited with Samantha Power). A native Nebraskan, he lives in Washington, D.C., with his family. Chollet is a co-editor of Shadow Government.
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 02: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson leaves a closed briefing at the U.S. Capitol with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee August 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. The committee was briefed on 'The Authorizations for the Use of Military Force: Administration Perspective. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
US Secretary of Defense James Mattis speaks after his ceremonial swearing-in as secretary of defense watched by US President Donald Trump on January 27, 2017 at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One prior to departure from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, July 5, 2017, as they travel on a 4-day trip to Poland and Germany. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, : US Senator Joseph McCarthy holds a picture showing Clement Richard Attlee, British statesman and Prime minister (1945-1951) making a communist salute during the Spanish civil war. John Parnell Thomas and MacCarthy instigated an anti-commnist witchhunt campaign in the early 1950's, a period known as McCarthyism. In 1953 he became chairman of the powerful Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He was formally condemned by the Senate in 1954 lost power and died in 1957. (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 01: U.S. President Donald Trump announces his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement in the Rose Garden at the White House June 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump pledged on the campaign trail to withdraw from the accord, which former President Barack Obama and the leaders of 194 other countries signed in 2015. The agreement is intended to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit global warming to a manageable level. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(L-R) Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrive to watch an Italian flying squadron during the Summit of the Heads of State and of Government of the G7, the group of most industrialized economies, plus the European Union, on May 26, 2017 in Taormina, Sicily.
The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the US and Italy will be joined by representatives of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as teams from Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria and Tunisia during the summit from May 26 to 27, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN (Photo credit should read STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/Getty Images)
From left : Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson sit at a table on the second day of a meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised countries on April 11, 2017 in Lucca, Tuscany. / AFP PHOTO / Vincenzo PINTO (Photo credit should read VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 05: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and King Abdullah II (L) of Jordan participate in a joint news conference at the Rose Garden of the White House April 5, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump held talks on Middle East peace process and other bilateral issues with King Abdullah II. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
SALZBURG, AUSTRIA - MAY 1972: President Richard Nixon speaks with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger during a trip to Salzburg, Austria in May 1972. (Photo by AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 12: U.S. President Barack Obama (C) delivers the State of the Union speech before members of Congress in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol January 12, 2016 in Washington, DC. In his last State of the Union, President Obama reflected on the past seven years in office and spoke on topics including climate change, gun control, immigration and income inequality. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, February 15, 2017. / AFP / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 11: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is seen as former presidential candidate Ben Carson gives him his endorsement during a press conference at the Mar-A-Lago Club on March 11, 2016 in Palm Beach, Florida. Presidential candidates continue to campaign before Florida's March 15th primary day. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
US National Security Adviser Mike Flynn speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2017.
Flynn signaled a more hardline American stance on Iran Wednesday, condemning a recent missile test and declaring he was "officially putting Iran on notice." / AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
