Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis are growing increasingly frustrated with National Security Adviser John Bolton’s efforts to cut back on meetings between Cabinet chiefs, Politico reported.
Mattis reportedly wrote Bolton a letter requesting more meetings with administration leadership to “smooth the bubble” of disjointed messaging on key foreign policy issues, like toward Russia and the U.S. stance in Syria, one senior official told Politico.
The scarcity of “principals committee” meetings — gatherings of Cabinet heads to prepare policy for President Trump — has several senior officials concerned about whether the White House is exuding a cohesive message on key issues. The frustrations have heightened following Trump’s disastrous press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bolton did not hold a “principals” meeting before the summit and hasn’t held one since, according to Politico.
Read the full report here.
