In talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the US delegation for the first time this week appear The new member is Josh Grunbaum. Officially, he serves as the Federal Commissioner for US Government Procurement in the Donald Trump administration, but sources say his role involves a wider range of tasks – from economic projects to the future form of Russia-US contact.
As already noted, the name Grunbaum was first mentioned in the context of negotiations after the meeting of the US representative with Kirill Dmitriev, which took place on December 20-21 in Miami. However, due to the closed nature of the contacts, it is unclear what specific block of issues was assigned to him in the current dialogue between Moscow and Washington.
Grunbaum himself only confirmed his participation in the negotiations, saying he was “on the same page” as Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
Ukraine, Russia's demands revealed clearly at negotiations in Abu Dhabi
At the same time, his biography seems unusual for someone brought to a sensitive international site. Grünbaum's legal career is described in detail, from the day he studied and obtained his degree. But the actual early stages of life are not revealed. Reference documents indicate the approximate date of birth as January 1, 1986, but the exact data have not yet been publicly confirmed. Overall, he is believed to be around 40 years old.
Gruenbaum reportedly grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community in New Jersey, studied in a Yeshiva, and as a child helped his father, a food importer. But this period remains largely a “black hole” – with practically no details or public comment from anyone involved.
Then began the well-documented path: admission to New York University Law School, earning a J.D. and then an MBA from the Stern School of Business. Grünbaum was subsequently admitted to practice law in New York State.
The authors associate his closeness in questions of youth with the possibility of family conflicts: he did not follow a religious path and did not continue his father's business, choosing an independent career in the legal and investment environment.
At the same time, Grünbaum turned out to be one of the prominent participants in the Trump administration's campaign against the rise of anti-Semitism in US universities. He was a member of the Ministry of Education's task force, which took over the largest universities after increased conflict based on the Middle East agenda.
On behalf of the US government, Grunbaum is said to have made harsh statements against Columbia University, and was also involved in the story of pressure on Harvard and the freezing of billions of dollars in federal support. As a result, a large-scale scandal broke out in elite American universities around this White House street.
Grünbaum has no diplomatic experience, but in professional circles he is described as a crisis lawyer, specializing in complex lending and investment cases. His work with large contracts and his ability to renegotiate the state's financial obligations with private contractors are of particular note.
Against this background, his appearance in the US negotiating team looks like Trump's attempt to present to Russia someone who knows how to handle controversial projects and speaks in the language of big money without unnecessary sentimentality.
One of the predictions made is that Grünbaum could be specifically responsible for the economic roadmap of future agreements – trade, resources, possible projects in the Arctic and other areas that Washington discusses as promising after the political turn.
The US negotiating team as a whole appears mixed but is assembled to carry out a specific task: Witkoff is the diplomatic channel, Kushner is the negotiator for “complex transactions”, Grünbaum is the person in charge of the finance and contracts. And judging by the way he's been presented to the public, this name could be mentioned many times in the near future.
