Trent Buatte

Trent Buatte serves as Deputy Legal Advisor for the White House National Security Council. He is detailed from the Office of the Legal Adviser at the US Department of State, where he advised the US government on issues relating to international law, particularly the use of force and the law of war. Mr. Buatte's prior government experience includes being Special Advisor for International Humanitarian Policy within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Attorney-Adviser for United Nations Affairs at the Department of State, and Associate Counsel for Refugee & Asylum Law and an asylum officer within the Department of Homeland Security. Prior to federal service, He clerked for the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and taught comparative law and human rights law at Universität Halle-Wittenberg in Germany. Mr. Buatte received GW Law’s Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award from the 2023 graduating class. He has also taught International Law at GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs.