President-elect Donald Trump named Adam Boehler as his special presidential envoy for hostage affairs on Wednesday, touting Boehler’s experience negotiating “with some of the toughest people in the [w]orld.” 

During the first Trump administration, Boehler served as the first CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, a body that invests in low- and middle-income nations. Trump credited Boehler, who is Jewish, as a negotiator of the Abraham Accords in his Wednesday announcement. 

“Adam knows that NO ONE is tougher than the United States of America, at least when President Trump is its Leader. Adam will work tirelessly to bring our Great American Citizens HOME,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site. Boehler is now the CEO of a healthcare company. 

In past writings and interviews, Boehler has argued that American negotiations to return U.S. citizens wrongfully detained abroad must be coupled with the threat of military action.

In an August op-ed, Boehler called for a stronger U.S. posture in the efforts to bring home the hostages held in Gaza — including a possible military raid in Gaza to rescue American hostages.

“The Biden administration has reverted to a philosophy of hostage rescues that sees a military operation as a last resort,” Boehler wrote. “This approach cedes the upper hand to hostage takers, who feel emboldened to capture Americans with little fear of paying for it with their lives.” Three American hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive; the bodies of four others are believed to be held in the enclave.

In a September post on X, Boehler attributed the lack of progress on hostage issues to the lack of “consequences” from the U.S.

“The Taliban is not releasing our citizens [because] there are no consequences. Hamas killed another American [because] there are no consequences,” he wrote.

Trump’s appointment of Boehler comes days after the president-elect issued a strongly worded statement calling for Hamas to release the hostages in Gaza. 

“Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action!” Trump wrote. “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East.” 

Boehler was college roommates with Jared Kushner.