The Face of DHS Looks a Little Pale

Leaving State

US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff turns to look at his staff who were asked to stand by a member of the House Judiciary Committee as Chertoff testifies March 05, 2008 on oversight of the Homeland Security Department in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Mandel Ngan - /AFP/Getty Images)

There's lots of movement on the diplomatic front. The State Department's undersecretary for political affairs, Nicholas Burns, left last week and William Burns, who was ambassador to Russia, was tapped to replace him. (Only people named Burns are allowed in that job.) Word is that John Beyrle, a highly regarded veteran diplomat, the current ambassador to Bulgaria and former No. 2 at the embassy in Moscow is replacing Burns in Russia. He speaks Russian, German, French, Czech and Bulgarian.

Meanwhile, former State spokesman Adam Ereli is giving up his ambassadorship in Bahrain for a year to be spokesman in the embassy in Baghdad. Ereli has been nicknamed Abu Musa, because his mini-mutt (poodle/Maltese mix) dog is called Musa. Musa, used to the fine life in Bahrain, is staying behind.

And Philip Reeker, a former department deputy spokesman, is heading off to a senior post in the Balkans. He had been No. 2 in the embassy in Budapest and is now the spokesman in Baghdad.

Going Private

Longtime Senate staffer Janice O'Connell has left the Hill to become a senior international adviser in the D.C. office of Hogan and Hartson. She'll be a member of the legislative and international trade practice groups, and will split her time between the law firm and Stonebridge International.

O'Connell worked on the Senate Foreign Relations and Banking committees for the past 30 years and was a top foreign policy and national security adviser to Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.).

Also, Shaun Donnelly, a career diplomat, former ambassador to Sri Lanka and more recently assistant U.S. trade representative for Europe and the Middle East, is moving to the National Association of Manufacturers to be the senior director for international business policy.

Donnelly replaces Bill Primosch, another former career foreign service officer, who is retiring from NAM.