White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday night insisted that National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster will not be leaving the administration anytime soon despite several reports indicating he is on his way out.
Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster – contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) March 16, 2018
Sanders’ tweet followed a Washington Post report that Trump has decided to remove McMaster. Trump has been discussing possible replacements for the national security adviser, the Washington Post reported, citing five sources familiar with the plans.
According to the Post, Trump will take his time ousting McMaster because he doesn’t want McMaster to be “humiliated” and wants to choose a replacement. Some in the White House also want to wait to oust McMaster until they have a position lined up for him elsewhere, per the Post.
After Sanders’ tweet denying the Washington Post report, CNN published a report that Trump is ready to fire McMaster and wants to have a replacement in place before talks with North Korea in May.
Trump has been eyeing John Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations who makes frequent appearances on Fox News, and Keith Kellogg, the chief of staff of the National Security Council, according to the Washington Post.
Reports that Trump will move to replace McMaster have been swirling for weeks. Several other members of the administration are also in danger of being dismissed by Trump, including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, according to the Post and the New York Times.
