White House says no change for McMaster
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is not about to oust his national security advisor, HR McMaster, according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, even as speculation intensified that Mr McMaster’s departure had already been decided.
Ms Sanders tweeted on Mr McMaster’s status late Thursday night following a Washington Post report that Trump had decided to replace the Army lieutenant-general, who has led the National Security Council for more than a year. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Mr Trump wants to remove Mr McMaster and has conveyed his wishes to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
“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,” she said in a Twitter post.
The Sanders tweet provided some reprieve for Mr McMaster from speculation that he would be the next top official to leave the administration amid turbulence that has depleted Mr Trump’s inner circle. That reprieve may only be temporary, some people familiar with the situation said, as it appears that Mr Trump’s displeasure with Mr McMaster has reached a critical level. The people were granted anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.
The president in recent weeks has seemed more determined to follow his own instincts and less inclined to heed the counterarguments of senior officials. Mr Trump on Thursday said that there would “always be change, but very little” as he denied reports of a widespread staff overhaul. He added, however, that he wanted to “see different ideas” in his administration.
Although praised for the calm command and deep experience he brought to the National Security Council, Mr McMaster has had runins with the president. Last month, Mr Trump rebuked him on Twitter for neglecting to defend the president’s 2016 victory while discussing US claims that Russia had interfered in the election.
Mr McMaster has at times been at odds with Mr Kelly, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis; and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and that has contributed to the tenuous level of support he has at the White House.
He was also aligned with White House economic advisor Gary Cohn in the unsuccessful effort to talk Trump out of imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Some inside the White House believe Mr McMaster endangered his standing with Trump by being too strident, according to a person familiar with deliberations. Mr Cohn announced his resignation after the president went forward with the tariffs.
The Pentagon has been preparing options for a possible new job for Mr McMaster, fueling speculation that he would soon leave the White House.
Mr Trump has been shaking up his national security team even as a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un approaches.
The president fired Mr Tillerson on Tuesday, saying the two had disagreed on the Iran nuclear deal and other matters of foreign policy. Mike Pompeo, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and an ardent critic of the Iran accord, has been chosen to replace Mr Tillerson.
A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the 1991 Persian Gulf campaign, Mr McMaster joined the administration a year ago after Mr Trump dismissed his predecessor, Michael Flynn, for lying to Vice-President Mike Pence.