Petraeus's 'Favorite Intelligence Officer' Joins National Security Council Staff

As the first full week of the Trump administration comes to a close, the White House appears to be getting into something of a groove. On Monday, there was a bit of chaos within the West Wing, with staffers looking a little lost or unsure of where to go and what to do. One veteran White House reporter told me he was milling about outside the office of the press secretary when he ran into White House chief of staff Reince Priebus. Priebus was startled to see a journalist: “I didn't know you guys could be back here!"

Things have settled down by week's end, though, with a more upbeat mood in the West Wing and a sense that, after a tumultuous beginning, the White House is humming right along. The press staff are all smiles with the journalists who congregate around their desks before and after briefings. There remains a sense of awe about working in the White House, not unlike that expressed by President Trump himself.

And the source of the good mood around the White House may come from the top as well. Oval Office walk-in privileges remain pretty traditional—family members, chief of staff, the vice president, and the most senior. But President Trump is seen as accessible, saying hello to staff as he walks through the halls of the West Wing. It's been a tough and long first week, but this is a staff that's happy and excited to be in the White House.

Petraeus's "Favorite Intelligence Officer" Joins NSC Staff

The personnel of the National Security Council under retired Lt. General Michael Flynn continues to take shape. A White House source confirms that Derek Harvey, a former senior intelligence analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency, has been tapped as the senior director at the NSC for Middle East issues.

A native of Elmhurt, Illinois, Harvey is a consummate national security and intelligence professional with an impressive resume. As an intelligence officer in the United States Army, he had stints as an analyst at military commands, American embassies, and the DIA. Here's how Bob Woodward described Harvey in his 2008 book The War Within: