Trump National Security Adviser McMaster To Resign, Be Replaced By John Bolton
By: Kayla Pasacreta
McMaster, photo via Getty Images
Another high-level White House shakeup this late Thursday afternoon. National security adviser H.R. McMaster is resigning, and will be replaced with former United Nation (UN) ambassador John Bolton. This news comes on the same day as the resignation of Trump's lead lawyer. Trump announced the shake-up via Twitter:
A White House official stated the exit "was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two," and continued, "The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation,” Tensions between McMaster and Trump were no secret. Last year, Buzzfeed reported that McMaster thought Trump had the intelligence of a "kindergartner". Trump reportedly did also not appreciate that McMaster told an audience that Russian interference in the election was indisputable.
McMaster's termination signals Trump's commitment to fill the White House with advisers he believes will not try to dictate his behavior or say "no" to him, especially when it comes to the Russia Investigation. This makes John Bolton the perfect fit for Trump. An advocate of the Iraq War, Bolton has very different views on National Security. A week after Trump's election, Senator Rand Paul vowed to block any Bolton nomination, "I think an unrepentant advocate of the Iraq War doesn’t really fit with Donald Trump’s pronouncements throughout the campaign,” In February, Bolton wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal supporting a strike on North Korea.
