The White House is reportedly getting ready for a new national security adviser
President Donald Trump’s White House continues to be beleaguered with staffing issues as reports that National Security Adviser HR McMaster may also leave have surfaced in the wake of trusted adviser Hope Hicks' departure.
According to administration officials, the move could happen by next month and it was coordinated by Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defence Secretary James Mattis, NBC News reported.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said: "We frequently face rumour and innuendo about senior administration officials...There are no personnel announcements at this time."
Mr McMaster had replaced Mr Trump’s initial appointment to the post, Michael Flynn, just one year ago.
Mr Flynn had resigned just 24 days into Mr Trump’s time in office after it was revealed that he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his dealings with Russian officials.
As part of the ongoing probe into whether there was collusion between Russian officials and the 2016 Trump campaign team, he also pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about a meeting with former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak just ahead of Mr Trump’s inauguration.
Mr McMaster as a solid choice for replacement because he had no ties to the campaign.
Prior to his time in the White House he was director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center in Virginia.
He chose to remain an active duty Army Lieutenant General instead of retiring from military service when he was appointed as National Security Adviser.
NBC News reported that Mr Mattis would likely allow Mr McMaster to return to a three-star general position in the Army or may promote him to a four-star.
Mr McMaster and Mr Trump butted heads recently, which could prove to be one of the deciding factors in his dismissal.
At a forum in Germany, the National Security Adviser said it was “incontrovertible” that Russia had indeed interfered in the 2016 US election.
The FBI and Congressional investigations are still ongoing. Ms Hicks had testified in front of the House intelligence committee as part of it and said she had to “tell white lies” as part of working for Mr Trump.
Her departure was announced the next day.
Mr McMaster's comment sparked a Twitter response from the President. He wrote that Mr McMaster “forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians and that the only Collusion was between Russia and Crooked H, the DNC and the Dems”.
Mr McMaster is seen as a respected leader in the military. He is perhaps best known for his PhD dissertation which later became the best-selling book “Dereliction of Duty”.
In it he blamed US military leaders for the defeat in the Vietnam War; he argued that they gave in to the political demands of President Lyndon S. Johnson instead of providing the best military advice they could.
Ford Motor Company executive Stephen Biegun, who had served as an adviser to former national security adviser Condoleezza Rice during the administration of President George W Bush, is considered to be a replacement for the position.
