In the past, Sullivan has evaded blame for other blunders he’s been a part of — most notably HILLARY CLINTON’s losing 2016 presidential campaign, where he was a senior adviser. But the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has prompted rare murmurs of dissent aimed at Sullivan.

Last week, former Obama State Department official BRETT BRUEN wrote a USA Today op-ed calling for Biden to shake up his national security team, singling out Sullivan in particular. “While he knows all the theories and academic arguments in foreign policy, his overseas experience is less robust. It can lead to the disconnect between ideas and implementation,” Bruen wrote, a line that circulated in some foreign policy circles.

Bruen can prompt eye rolls from Democrats, who see him as media-hungry, but not everyone disagreed with his point that Sullivan may be a 2021 version of “The Best and the Brightest.”

“Constitutionally, he’s very well suited for high pressure situations, but he’s not tested — you don’t get tested by being the head of policy planning in the State Department,” a senior Defense department official in the Obama administration said, referring to Sullivan’s past role working for Clinton when she was secretary of State.