White House aide thought to be anonymous writer is reassigned to Energy Dept.

WASHINGTON » The White House is transferring a senior national security aide who fell under suspicion of writing an anonymous insider account of dissent within the Trump administration, the latest of several senior personnel moves stemming from questions of loyalty to President Donald Trump.

Victoria Coates, Trump’s deputy national security adviser, will move Monday to the Department of Energy, where she will serve as a senior adviser to Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette.

Robert C. O’Brien, the national security adviser, announced Thursday the staff shift in a statement, saying her move was intended to “ensure the close alignment of energy policy with national security objectives.” The move was first reported by Axios.

But current and former administration officials said Coates, who managed Middle East and North Africa issues on the National Security Council, had been targeted by a whisper campaign among some proTrump conservatives that she was Anonymous, an official who wrote a September 2018 op-ed essay for The New York Times that was expanded into a book that was published last year.

The Times identified Anonymous as only “a senior official in the Trump administration.” The unnamed official, whose identity is known to the senior leadership of the Times editorial page department but not to their counterparts in the news department or to reporters who cover the White House, has managed to remain anonymous for more than a year despite frenzied efforts to uncover the person’s identity. It is unclear whether the person still works in government.

Known as a hawk on Middle East issues, including Israel and Iran, Coates previously served as a foreign policy aide to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. She has held multiple national security jobs in the Trump administration and was promoted to deputy national security adviser shortly after O’Brien took over the National Security Council in the fall.

Her departure came shortly after the dismissal from the council of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified against Trump during impeachment hearings in the House, along with Vindman’s brother, also a national security staffer.