Homeland adviser quits White House

TOM BOSSERT, Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser, has resigned amid a shake-up of the administration’s foreign policy team.

Mr Bossert, 43, had previously served under president George W Bush, and played a prominent role in dealing with a series of devastating hurricanes last year.

His resignation comes a day after John Bolton, Mr Trump’s new foreign policy hawk, took up his role at the White House.

The hardliner is expected to shake up the national security team, signalling a change in the US president’s foreign policy approach.

Mr Trump has nominated Mike Pompeo, the CIA director, to be his new Secretary of State, pending approval from the Senate, which begins its hearings on Thursday. Both Mr Bolton, who served as Mr Bush’s UN ambassador, and Mr Pompeo are known for their hawkish foreign policy views, which are more in line with Mr Trump’s stance.

The president is thought to have orchestrated the change to his top foreign policy advisers ahead of his face-to-face meeting with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, having previously said a meeting with the regime may take place as early as May or June.

The turnover rate of top White House staff under Mr Trump is far higher than it was under any of his recent predecessors, according to academic research.

Michael Anton, the National Security Council spokesman and one of the sharpest defenders of Mr Trump’s “America First” foreign policy announced on Sunday he was quitting.