Covington Nabs Diplomat Nuland to Advise Clients in New Trump Term

Longtime State Department diplomat Victoria Nuland took a part-time senior advisor role in the global public policy practice of Covington & Burling last month.

Nuland’s move to private practice, announced on Monday, comes after her March 22 departure from the State Department, where she ran six regional bureaus and the counter-terrorism bureau as undersecretary of political affairs since 2021. Nuland oversaw trade issues with China when she took over as acting deputy secretary of state for Wendy Sherman in 2023.

Nuland will advise the firm’s clients on matters ranging from reputation management to adversarial trade relationships under a second Trump administration. She said her work may include advocating for client interests to lawmakers and executive branch agencies.

“I wanted to go back and do more strategic consulting,” Nuland said. “I landed at Covington because they have a global footprint and that will allow me to do what I like to do in this nexus of policy, law, and global business.”

Victoria Nuland

Covington & Burling

Nuland, who is not a lawyer, has served in a variety of roles in government, from principal deputy national security advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney to assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs under President Barack Obama. Leaders in the firm’s global public policy practice say she will complement the firm’s legal expertise in helping clients navigate a second Trump term.

“Having someone with Toria’s stature and career is very valuable to us right now with our clients,” said Daniel Feldman, co-chair of the firm’s public policy group. “We’re looking at uncharted waters in the months and years ahead with some very dynamic and evolving political issues with geopolitical tensions in China and clients who have global footprints in the Middle East.”

This isn’t Nuland’s first time transitioning from government service to the private sector.

When Rex Tillerson took over as Secretary of State in 2017, Nuland joined the Albright Stonebridge Group to advise companies on public policy. She was tapped to lead national security think tank Center for a New American Security as chief executive officer but said “it wasn’t the best fit” and rejoined the Albright Stonebridge Group in January of 2019. She stayed at the group until she returned to government in 2021 when Secretary of State Antony Blinken tapped her to join the department.

As undersecretary of political affairs, Nuland said she worked to strengthen US relationships with “rising middle powers” like South Africa and Columbia, as well as garner support from NATO allies for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

After she exited government in 2017, Nuland expressed concern over the then-Trump administration’s pivot away from international allies. In an interview Monday, Nuland said she has been reassured by the president-elect’s post-election meetings with foreign allies such as Canada’s Justin Trudeau.

“The president-elect now has experience working with the EU, working with NATO, and working with allies,” Nuland said. “It’s been good to see him between Election Day and inauguration having meetings with allies and partners and I hope that he appreciates the value of the great democracies working together especially when our adversaries are working together.”