Two days after President-elect Donald Trump said there will be “hell to pay” if Hamas does not release the hostages it has held since attacking Israel last year, Trump announced on Wednesday that Adam Boehler will be his special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. 

Boehler was lead negotiator for the State Department’s Abraham Accords team working with Middle East leaders during Trump's first term.

“He has negotiated with some of the toughest people in the world, including the Taliban, but Adam knows that no one is tougher than the United States of America, at least when President Trump is its Leader,” Trump said in a statement. “Adam will work tirelessly to bring our Great American Citizens HOME.”

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, the 45-year-old currently runs the health care investment firm Rubicon Founders. Previously, he was the first CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., which invests in climate resilience and diversifying the global supply chain of critical minerals.

On Monday, Trump demanded that Hamas release the hostages the group has been holding for nearly 14 months by the time he is inaugurated in January. Hamas took about 250 hostages on Oct. 7, about 100 of whom are believed to be in Gaza. About a third, however, are thought to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.