The Americans are coming again.

In fact, one Washington insider you've probably never heard of has just been here.

President Joe Biden thinks he can help encourage the Liz Trust administration to strike a new deal on the protocol with Brussels,

and he's sent his man over to help make it happen.

Derek Cholet is that man.

He met the politicians and civic and business leaders here in Northern Ireland

earlier this week and left without saying anything. So who is he? What's he up to and what happens

next? Katie, you met him. What's he like? Yes, I was very privileged to be invited to dinner with him

with civic leaders and business leaders and anybody who brings a notebook to a dinner is immediately someone I have a lot of respect for.

And he had that notebook out and he was taking notes.

He was in listening mode.

He was trying to get a sense of where things are from the point of view of civic leaders

and business leaders in Northern Ireland.

And as a person, he was very engaged, despite having had such a busy day travelling around

Belfast.

He was in listening mode rather than talking mode.

Absolutely.

Yeah, that was very clear as with the notes that he was taking.

Ray, I know you've been keeping a bit of an eye on him in the States in recent days.

He's a bit of a mysterious character, and it seems he's a player.

Oh, absolutely. I mean, he's a senior figure in the State Department,

so he speaks for the U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken,

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