Yuri Kobzar22:09, 07.12.25

Instead of consulting with experts, Trump consults with friends who have no idea where Ukraine is.

US President Donald Trump has effectively disbanded the National Security Council and is making foreign policy decisions without the proper expertise of a small circle of under-qualified professionals, Politico reports , citing informed sources.

A narrow circle of close associates

According to insiders, Trump has entrusted the most important foreign policy decisions, including the war in Ukraine, to just a few of his closest advisers. This “inner circle” consists of Steve Witkoff, a New York real estate magnate with whom Trump has been friends for decades; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Vice President J.D. Vance; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has never held a major government position; Jared Kushner, a businessman and the president’s son-in-law, who is also not a career bureaucrat; and several others.

For example, it was Witkoff and Kushner, whom Trump considers his best deal-makers, who worked together to develop the infamous 28-point “peace plan” for Ukraine and Russia.

According to the publication’s sources, Trump convenes this motley crew on a whim; meetings are ad hoc and without any regularity, and decisions are made quickly. This group has no normal hierarchy typical of government structures. Except, of course, that Trump is in charge.

Chaos and incompetence

“Trump wants peace deals and merit. He’s less concerned with the details,” one former administration official told reporters.

One of the problems with the fact that US foreign policy is run by friends of the president, rather than the government apparatus, is the chaotic and incoherent nature of the actions of each of these friends.

“It’s really dangerous when you have multiple people negotiating independently,” said Richard Haass, a former adviser to the US secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration.

For example, on the war in Ukraine, there have been several parallel negotiating tracks over the past few months: Witkoff and, more recently, Kushner have spoken with the Russians, Keith Kellogg with the Ukrainians, and Rubio and, to a lesser extent, Vance with the Europeans.

“It’s much better when one person knows everything that’s being said to everyone, determines what everyone says, and orchestrates compromises. When there are too many cooks in the kitchen, it’s impossible to guarantee that what’s being said to Ukraine, what’s being said to Europe, and what’s being said to Russia will all be consistent,” Haass said.

As Politico notes, this year, Trump’s team significantly reduced the bureaucracy, including some committees of the National Security Council—an important government body that US presidents typically consult when making decisions. This, coupled with Trump’s general mistrust of government institutions, has created a situation where the president makes decisions without consulting relevant experts.

“The idea that Ukraine will never accept the 28-point plan is something the experts will know right away. [But] they (Trump and his friends – UNIAN) don’t care, because they just want to force Ukraine to swallow it,” said a former National Security Council official.

Ivo Daalder, former US ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama, noted that under these circumstances, “no one should be surprised by the chaos” seen in Trump’s attempts to end the war in Ukraine.

“This is what happens when there is no real process of developing policy, providing advice, engaging with foreign governments and setting a clear direction,” he said.

(C)UNIAN 2025