White House aide to take key U.S. Commerce Department post

By Alexandra Alper and Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) - A senior White House aide who has been involved with next-generation 5G networks and the global campaign against China's Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] is moving to the Department of Commerce.

Robert Blair will become director of policy and strategic planning, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement late Tuesday.

Blair replaces Earl Comstock, who held the post for three years. Comstock, who resigned last month, also helped lead the administration's efforts against Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, which was placed on a trade blacklist last year.

Blair "will be incredibly valuable to our Department as we continue our work to execute on the President’s bold agenda," Ross said in the statement.

President Donald Trump in December named Blair as the special representative for international telecommunications policy to work on the administration's 5G efforts under Larry Kudlow, the White House economic advisor.

Blair also has been a White House aide and was senior advisor to former White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney.

Last fall, Blair defied a subpoena from the U.S. House of representatives committee conducting an impeachment inquiry into whether Trump improperly pressed Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper; additional reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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