Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan (born November 28, 1976) is an American attorney who served as the U.S. National Security Advisor from 2021 to 2025 under president Joe Biden.

[5][3] He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa his senior year and graduated summa cum laude with distinction in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts.

He interned at the Council on Foreign Relations, was a member of the Yale Debate Association and earned a Truman Scholarship in his junior year.

[4] After Faegre & Benson, Sullivan worked as chief counsel to Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar,[4][11] who connected him to Hillary Clinton.

[9] When Clinton became secretary of state, Sullivan was named her deputy chief of staff[12] and Director of Policy Planning, and travelled with her to 112 countries.

[21] He was reported to be the only senior staffer who repeatedly suggested that Clinton should spend more time in Midwestern swing states during the election campaign.

[32] Given his role in crafting U.S. cyber security policy in the Biden administration, including overseeing the government's response to the January 2021 cyberattack on Microsoft, concerns have been raised about potential conflicts of interest.

[3] In September 2021 The Guardian opined that one of Sullivan's themes in the job is connecting US actions on the world stage to the lives and welfare of ordinary Americans, with the mantra of "a foreign policy for the middle class".

"[36] However, Brett Bruen, director of global engagement in the Obama White House, called for Sullivan's dismissal over his role in the affair.

[40] On October 6, 2021, a high level meeting between Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat, CCP Politburo member Yang Jiechi, in Zürich, Switzerland focused on a number of contentious aspects of Chinese-American relations, including the existence of Taiwan, trade disputes, the COVID-19 origin theories, as well as civic freedoms in Hong Kong.

[41] On October 25, 2021, Sullivan was briefed by Pentagon officials on the full range of military options to ensure that Iran would not be able to produce a nuclear weapon.

[44] On December 7, 2021, Sullivan warned that Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project will end in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[56] On October 15, 2023, CNN's Jake Tapper, in an interview with Sullivan, raised questions about Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip and the impact on its population.

Sullivan claimed that the United States worked with Israel "to make sure that innocent Palestinians get access to [water and medicine and food] and are protected from bombardment.

Sullivan informed Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov that the United States would not discuss a ceasefire without Ukraine's participation.

[65] In March 2024, Sullivan warned Ukrainian officials to cease military strikes in Russia using Ukraine's own weaponry, amidst concerns about impacts on oil prices.

"[67] On June 9, 2024, Sullivan said that the rescue operation to recover Israeli hostages from the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza was aided by intelligence support from the United States.

[71] He had spoken (for the fifth time in their careers) to Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi along with Central Military Commission vice chairman General Zhang Youxia the previous day.

[70][72] Concerns were expressed over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea,[72] and Sullivan made special reference to the November 2023 Woodside Summit.

[73] In January 2025, three days before leaving his position as National Security Advisor, Sullivan warned that the next few years would be crucial in determining whether artificial intelligence leads to catastrophe and whether China or America prevails in the AI race.

In late April 2023, an unknown man reportedly entered Sullivan's home in the West End neighborhood of Washington D.C. at around 3 am, but left before Secret Service agents were alerted.