U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced earlier in the week that Jacob Helberg, a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission and national security author and adviser, is his nominee for under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.

“In this role, Jacob will be a champion of our America first foreign policy,” Trump stated. “He will guide State Department policy on economic statecraft, promoting America’s economic security and growth and American technological dominance abroad.”

“Jacob is a successful technology executive, has the knowledge, expertise and pragmatism to defend America’s economic interests abroad and always puts America first,” Trump added.

Helberg wrote that he is “deeply honored and humbled” by Trump’s trust. “President Trump’s historic landslide election gave new hope and strength to the American people and was a reminder that brighter days are ahead—both at home and abroad,” he wrote.

In July, Helberg, who is Jewish, told JNS that “President Trump is by far the most pro-Israel president in history.”

“Anyone who cares about Israel recognizes that. He moved our embassy to Jerusalem, recognized the Golan Heights, signed the historic Abraham Accords to help strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance structure in the Middle East, instituted a maximum pressure campaign against Iran and, at every step of the way, always had Israel’s back,” he told JNS.

“In the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre and in the rise of antisemitism on college campuses across the U.S., I have no doubt that President Trump’s support for Israel will be just as resolute,” he told JNS at the time.

Image - JNS/Jacob Helberg. Credit: Courtesy