Kamala Harris’s top adviser and ‘future Secretary of State’ pleaded against Brexit
Philip Gordon, Kamala Harris’s top foreign policy adviser, has been revealed as a key figure in the Obama administration’s efforts to prevent Brexit.
The 62-year-old official, described by friends as a “shrewd pragmatist”, is tipped for a senior role should Harris win the upcoming US presidential election. Sources suggest he could become either the White House’s National Security Adviser or Harris’s Secretary of State.
Gordon’s involvement in lobbying against Brexit during his tenure as assistant secretary for Europe in the State Department from 2009 to 2013 has raised eyebrows in Westminster, potentially impacting future US-UK relations.
During his time at the State Department, Gordon actively lobbied against a Brexit referendum. He visited London to warn British ministers and officials about the risks of holding such a vote.
Gordon presented three main arguments: Brexit could harm transatlantic relations, a referendum was “terribly risky” without certainty of a Remain victory, and it might embolden Eurosceptic voices across Europe.
Sir David Lidington, then Britain’s minister for Europe, recalled Gordon arguing in favour of continued EU membership in private meetings. Despite these efforts, David Cameron ultimately announced the Brexit referendum in his Bloomberg speech on January 23, 2013.
After leaving the Obama administration in 2015, Gordon continued his personal campaign against Brexit. In a Financial Times article two days before the 2016 referendum, he warned that Brexit would unleash “forces of disintegration” in Europe and likely trigger another Scottish independence vote.
Following the surprise Leave result, Gordon penned another piece condemning the “misleading promises” of the Leave campaign and advocating for a second referendum.
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Appearing on CNN, he suggested that as Brexit negotiations progressed, Britons might realise the drawbacks and seek to “rebuild something” akin to EU membership.
The prospect of Gordon potentially taking a senior role in a Harris administration has raised concerns among some Brexit supporters.
Mark Francois, chairman of the European Research Group of Conservative MPs, cautioned: “British public opinion has not always reacted positively to attempts by the Obama administration to tell us how to run our own country.
“Hopefully lessons have been learned from that episode in Washington, including by anyone likely to take up key roles if Kamala Harris were to win the US presidential election.”
This sentiment reflects ongoing sensitivities surrounding American involvement in British affairs, particularly regarding Brexit.