https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-trump-appoints-art-historian-national-security-council
An art historian now holds one of the most important national security jobs in the country. Dr. Victoria Coates, who received her Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998, was tapped in late January to serve as President Trump’s senior director for strategic assessments on the National Security Council. The news was first reported by the Washington Post.
Coates began her professional pivot from the arts to defense in the mid-2000s while blogging about national security for the conservative website RedState. At the time, she was also teaching art history at the University of Pennsylvania. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Business Insider he saw “smart analysis and sharp writing” in her blog posts, and reached out for help researching his book after he left office. After assisting Rumsfeld, who oversaw invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan during his tenure as Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush, Coates continued to burnish her national security credentials while pursuing her career in art history…