Former Qatari government lobbyist Erin Pelton was hired by President Joe Biden as a special assistant and senior adviser to the domestic policy adviser, The Washington Free Beacon reported.
Pelton lobbied for the Qatari Embassy in 2018 while working for Washington, D.C., lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs, according to public filings with the Department of Justice.
Pelton previously worked as a U.S. foreign service officer, the White House noted in its announcement of new hires, and in 2014 she became the spokeswoman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. She also served as a press secretary for the White House National Security Council and a deputy spokeswoman for the Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which handles policy related to the Middle East.
Biden's hire of Pelton comes amid questions about ties to adverserial foreign governments involving other members of the administration, including Asia policy czar Kurt Campbell's founding of a group that's been criticized as being "heavily influenced by the [Chinese Communist Party]." Former Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson, Biden's potential NASA head, has garnered scrutiny due to his investments in a Chinese telecom company the Pentagon has blacklisted, the Free Beacon reports.
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