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WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump
named Robert Blair to be the special representative for
international telecommunications policy and work on the
administration's 5G efforts under White House economic adviser
Larry Kudlow, the White House said in a statement on Monday.
As the senior adviser to the White House chief of staff,
Blair defied a subpoena from a House of Representatives
committee as part of its impeachment inquiry into whether Trump
improperly pressed Ukraine to investigate his domestic political
rival, Joe Biden.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has also called for
Blair to testify in the Senate's expected impeachment trial,
though Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, the majority
leader, has not accepted that demand.
Blair will continue to serve as an assistant to the
president and senior adviser to the White House chief of staff,
the White House said.
Blair's new role comes amid an international campaign by the
United States against Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei
Technologies Co Ltd. Washington has been seeking to
convince allies to exclude the firm from their 5G networks over
fears the company could spy on customers for Beijing.
Citing national security concerns, the Trump administration
put the company on a trade blacklist in May, barring companies
that make goods in the United States from selling to it without
a special license.
Reuters reported last month that the Commerce Department is
considering toughening export restrictions on the firm, which is
the world's second largest smartphone supplier.
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing
by Sandra Maler and Lisa Shumaker)
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