Obama-Era DOJ Official Matthew Miller Named as State Department Spokesman

The U.S. Department of State is seen in Washington on Jan. 6, 2020. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on April 11 that he has appointed Obama-era Department of Justice spokesman Matthew Miller as the State Department’s new spokesman.

In a statement announcing the news, Blinken said that he had “benefitted greatly from Matt’s wisdom, his experience in government, and his deep understanding of foreign policy” when he oversaw Blinken’s nomination to be secretary of state.

He added that Miller had joined the National Security Council at the White House, to lead the “whole of government communications and outreach” after Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.

“Matt stepped up once again in the early months of Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine when he took leave to join the National Security Council to lead our whole of government communications and outreach as part of our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and defense,” Blinken said.

“Having previously served as Director of the Office of Public Affairs and spokesperson to Attorney General Eric Holder at the Department of Justice, Matt is no stranger to navigating and communicating on complex, global challenges like those we face today,” he added.

Miller’s appointment comes after Blinken announced in March that former spokesman Ned Price, the longest-serving federal agency spokesman in the Biden administration, would step down from his role at the end of the month but would continue working directly with Blinken in a new capacity.

His deputy, Vedant Patel, has served as the department’s interim spokesman since then.

Blinken in his announcement on Tuesday thanked Patel, “not only for stepping up as Acting Spokesperson but for his continued work as Principal Deputy Spokesperson.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a press conference at State Department in Washington on April 11, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

About Miller

“Matt, along with Vedant and rest of the Office of the Spokesperson, will continue the Department’s commitment to access and transparency,” the secretary of state said. “I am grateful to Matt for once again agreeing to serve his country and look forward to once again benefitting from his counsel and expertise.”

Miller is currently a partner at the United States and Mexico-based strategic advisory firm, Vianovo, which, according to its website, was founded in 2005 and works on “high-stakes brand, policy, and crisis issues.”

“For more than a decade, we have helped some of the world’s most recognized names shape public opinion and media conversation, win legislative fights and investor battles, manage crises and litigation, and expand across markets and borders,” the firm’s website states. “Our bipartisan team has its roots in big-time politics.”

Vianovo has served on various presidential campaigns and Capitol Hill, held senior positions at the White House and Department of Justice (DOJ), and worked for startups and major corporations, according to its website.

At Vianovo, Miller advises boards, management teams, and public figures on “complex matters such as government investigations, congressional inquiries, high-stakes litigation, activist campaigns, and social and political issues.”

Miller previously served as director of the office of public affairs at the DOJ in the Obama administration, and has also worked as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), as well as for various political campaigns, including the 2004 John Kerry presidential campaign and former President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.

He is also an MSNBC analyst and has written for various publications including The Washington Post, Time, and Politico, according to his official biography.