
National security adviser H.R. McMaster has been ousted from his position amid rumors that President Donald Trump has been unhappy with his performance.
The Washington Post reported Thursday evening that Trump had decided to remove McMaster and that others might follow.
According to five sources familiar with the developing story, Trump had hoped to ensure that the three-star Army general was not publicly humiliated the way Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was. He also hoped to line up a successor prior to shoving McMaster out.
McMaster has been one of few to disagree with Trump on major issues. He is also still on active duty, so he would have to continue on somewhere in the military.
Reports revealed that Trump has felt emboldened over the last few weeks about his decisions around tariffs and his decision to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. As a result he's decided to make staff changes and install his own loyalists.
Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling told CNN that he doesn't anticipate McMaster will stay in the military as he was looking toward retirement before he was tapped for the administration.
In February, McMaster had a public feud when the general told a German conference that there was "incontrovertible" evidence that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election. It proved to be the first U.S. and administration official to acknowledge the cyber invasion. Trump then publicly attacked the comments on Twitter.
"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.
General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians a… https://t.co/ilaHKwf6Jy— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1518927768.0
Earlier Thursday, McMaster called for more action against Russia for their crimes in Syria, Politico reported.
Trump has repeatedly defended Russian President Vladimir Putin and has refused to enact sanctions Congress demanded.
The story is Developing...