White House Denies Reports That Trump Ready To Fire McMaster

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 02: H.R. McMaster, national security advisor, listens as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean defectors in the Oval Office of the White House on February 2, 2018 in Washingto... WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 02: H.R. McMaster, national security advisor, listens as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean defectors in the Oval Office of the White House on February 2, 2018 in Washington, D.C. Trump's meeting is one week before the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea in which North Korea will be participating. (Photo by Zach Gibson-Pool/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

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.

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.

Latest Livewire
31
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. “TheRemoval” has to occur before Pornstache Bolton gets his hands on the wheels of policy. Phucker has been itching to nuke peeps for decades.

  2. Sarah Sanders
    ‏@PressSec
    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.
    7:12 PM - 15 Mar 2018

    “…there are no changes at the NSC.”
    Not: “…there are going to be no changes at the NSC.”

    Buh-bye, H.R. Enjoy your new assignment.

  3. Since Trump is the “source” for the McMaster firing story, I think the media is on pretty safe ground.

  4. The key is when they say Trump has full confidence in you. That’s when you might as well go clean out your desk.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

25 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for kwoodgr Avatar for mondfledermaus Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for cervantes Avatar for progress Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for maxaroo Avatar for nomoredevil Avatar for dickweed Avatar for cuneiformist Avatar for georgeh Avatar for marcc1213 Avatar for rickjones Avatar for lizzymom Avatar for tiowally Avatar for khyber900 Avatar for greysea Avatar for read2much Avatar for erik_t Avatar for edys Avatar for bashful Avatar for groundloop Avatar for atldrew

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: