Trump to announce Michael Flynn replacement in the ‘next couple of days’
US President Donald Trump told reporter on Saturday that he will interview four candidates for the position of U.S. national security adviser on Sunday. He said whoever gets the post will be announced in the “next couple of days.”
The president was looking forward to speak with Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, Lieutenant General Robert Caslen, acting adviser Keith Kellogg and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. "I'll make a decision over the next couple of days," Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
The search for the next U.S. national security adviser has started since Michael Flynn filed his resignation earlier this month. The POTUS said aside from the four candidates mentioned above, it’s possible that he can add more candidates for the vacant seat. Reuters has noted that Keith Alexander, the former S. National Security Agency head, and former Army chief of staff Ray Odierno were also thought to be in contention for the vacant seat.
Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, has confirmed that “potentially others” might also be considered as the next U.S. national security adviser. The New York Times has reported that a senior administration White House official named General McMaster and General Caslen as the leading candidates to replace Flynn.
General McMaster is recognised as one of the military’s top intellectuals and led a counterinsurgency effort in 2005 to secure Tal Afar in northern Iraq. He is currently the director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center at Fort Eustis in Virginia.
General Caslen, on the other hand, was commander of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) and commander of coalition forces in northern Iraq. He is a West Point graduate and took command of the military academy in 2013.
Flynn, the first national security adviser under Trump administration, has kept the said role for only 24 days before he submitted his resignation. The retired lieutenant general has reportedly misled Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials about his conversation with Russia’s ambassador to the United States.
The president said at a news conference on Thursday that he feels comfortable for dismissing his former national security adviser because he thinks somebody will be outstanding for the position. The president did not drop the name of who he is referring to.
Meanwhile, Trump has taken to Twitter to update his followers about his agenda for the weekend. "Will be having many meetings this weekend at The Southern White House," he wrote.
