White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis are plotting to force National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster out of the administration.
McMaster, a three-star Army general, could leave his post as early as the end of March, according to a report from NBC News.
The White House swatted down the report Thursday night.
‘I was just with President Trump and H.R. McMaster in the Oval Office. President Trump said that the NBC News story is “fake news,” and told McMaster that he is doing a great job,’ said National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton.
NBC’s report comes just 24 hours after Trump-whisperer Hope Hicks said she is on her way out, and hours after former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci predicted that there would be a larger exodus to come.
McMaster irked the president in February after saying at the Munich Security Conference that indictments emerging from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation were ‘incontrovertible’ proof that Russians meddled in the 2016 U.S. elections.
National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, a three-star Army general, is being shoved aside, according to reports
McMaster has had a fractious relationship with President Donald Trump during his year on the job
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (left) and Secretary of Defense James Mattis (right) – both of them generals – are reportedly plotting to replace McMaster
‘General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians and that the only Collusion was between Russia and Crooked H, the DNC and the Dems,’ Trump tweeted in a public slap.
‘Remember the Dirty Dossier, Uranium, Speeches, Emails and the Podesta Company!’ he added then.
Stephen Biegun, vice president of International Governmental Affairs for Ford Motor Company, is being touted as one possible replacement for McMaster
Days later Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that McMaster was still in the president’s good graces.
‘He still has confidence in General McMaster,’ she told reporters on Feb. 20. ‘I spoke to him specifically about that answer. He said that he liked the General’s answer, but just thought that little addendum would be helpful to add.’
NBC reported Thursday that Ford Motor Company Vice President of International Affairs Stephen Biegun is one likely successor to McMaster.
Biegun was on the National Security Council staff during the George W. Bush administration and served as a senior aide to then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice – who recently introduced him to Mattis.
McMaster got his job in the wake of Michael Flynn’s scandalous departure after just 24 days on the job.
McMaster’s departure would put Trump in the position of having a third national security advisor in barely 14 months
McMaster irked Trump last month by saying indictments emerging from Robert Mueller’s investigation were ‘incontrovertible’ proof that Russians meddled in the 2016 U.S. elections
McMaster isn’t the only West Wing power player with one foot out the door: White House Communications Director Hope Hicks announced Wednesday that she will be leaving soon
Flynn was forced out following news that he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russia’s then-ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. He later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the episode.
The Pentagon is expected to offer McMaster a new job at his three-star level, possibly an overseas command.
It’s also conceivable that he might get his fourth star as a consolation prize, according to NBC.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said in a statement about McMaster that ‘[w]e frequently face rumor and innuendo about senior administration officials. There are no personnel announcements at this time.’
Anthony Scaramucci predicted Thursday morning that the Trump White House would soon see a mass exodus driven by aides’ frustration with John Kelly’s management style
Scaramucci’s warning about a West Wing brain-drain came Thursday morning in a Bloomberg Politics interview as he bashed Kelly’s iron-fisted management style.
‘There will be a further evacuation of talent,’ he predicted. ‘Fear and intimidation doesn’t work in a civilian organization. If he had any honor he’d resign.’
‘Does the president want to lose everyone because of General Jackass?’ asked Scaramucci.