Robert Kimmitt speaks at the Dubai International Financial Centre on October 28, 2008. (Getty)
Bob Kimmitt is reportedly being considered as a possible replacement for national security advisor Michael Flynn.
This report comes from Bloomberg News reporter Jennifer Jacobs, who reported on Tuesday morning that Kimmitt is being vetted for the position alongside David Petraeus and Bob Harward.
According to CNN, Kimmitt was previously being considered by the Trump administration for the job of deputy secretary of state in December, a role the White House has still not filled.
Here’s what you need to know about Bob Kimmitt, the potential next national security advisor of the United States.
1. He Was the Former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Under President George W. Bush
Robert Kimmitt addresses a press conference at the end of the G8 finance ministers meeting in Werder, near Berlin in Ma 2007. (Getty)
Bob Kimmitt previously served as the United States deputy secretary of the treasury from 2005 through 2009.
He was nominated by President George W. Bush in June 2005 and was confirmed by the Senate the following month in a unanimous vote.
That was not his first job with the Treasury Department, though. From 1985 to 1987, he served as general counsel to the Treasury Department, according to the department’s website.
2. He Served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany Under President George H.W. Bush
Robert M.Kimmitt at the World Economic Forum on January 27th, 2007. (Getty)
From 1989 through 1991, Kimmitt served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany under President George H.W. Bush. He continued working in that position for almost a year under President Bill Clinton until Clinton appointed a successor.
This position made sense for him, as Kimmitt spent his teen years in Germany and speaks fluent German, according to The New York Times. He grew up in a military family, with his father being Joseph Stanley Kimmitt, former secretary of the senate and army colonel.
“I really do think we are in a third postwar period, in both Germany and Europe,” Kimmit told The New York Times in 1993. “My feeling is that they face a number of challenges, particularly over the next 18 months, but I think that they are now coming to grips with those problems.”
Before becoming the ambassador to Germany, Kimmiit was George H.W. Bush’s under secretary of state for political affairs.
3. He Served on the National Security Council Under President Ronald Reagan
Robert Kimmitt and South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy Chun Yung-Woo shake hands as they hold talks at Chun’s office on November 8, 2006 in Seoul, South Korea. (Getty)
If Bob Kimmitt becomes the new national security advisor, he will serve on the National Security Council as he did in the 1980s.
From 1983 to 1985, Kimmitt served as National Security Council’s executive secretary and general counsel, with the rank of deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs, according to his bio on the Treasury Department.
Before earning this title, Kimmitt was a member of the National Security Council staff from 1976 to 1983.
4. He Has Also Worked as an Attorney
Robert Kimmitt looks at products with Home Depot (China) President Yves Chen during a visit to a Home Depot Store in Beijing, China. (Getty)
Outside of his experience in government, Bob Kimmitt has also worked as an attorney at various law firms.
In 1977 and 1978, Kimmitt worked as a law clerk to Judge Edward A. Tamm on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Later, after his work in the Reagan administration, Kimmitt became a partner at Sidley & Austin, a corporate law firm.
From 1997 through 2000, Kimmitt was a partner at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. And in 2005, he served as a senior international council at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Outside of his law work, some of Kimmitt’s other employers over the years have been Lehman Brothers, World Bank, and Time Warner.
5. He Is Married & Has Five Children
Robert Kimmitt attends a briefing for members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 23, 2006. (Getty)
Bob Kimmitt is married to Holly Sutherland Kimmitt, and he has five children: three sons and two daughters, according to his profile on the American Council on Germany’s website. The Kimmitt family resides in Arlington, Virginia.
Robert’s brother is Mark Kimmitt, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs for George W. Bush, serving from 2008 to 2009. He was also a brigadier general in the United States Army