Just weeks after a top White House staffer, Deputy Chief of Staff Katie Walsh, abruptly left the Trump administration to help support outside groups aligned with the president, another shakeup has occurred.
K.T. McFarland is leaving her role as Deputy National Security Adviser, and instead will serve as President Trump’s ambassador to Singapore.
K.T. McFarland will leave the National Security Council and accept the US ambassadorship to Singapore https://t.co/IgiSdtz9ut pic.twitter.com/MLZloAJyPc
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 10, 2017
McFarland was close to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and her departure from the National Security Council (NSC) signals that current National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster wants to surround himself with close allies, rather than those tied to hes predecessor.
From USA Today:
President Trump will ask K.T. McFarland to step down as deputy national security adviser and serve instead as ambassador to Singapore, giving National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster a chance to pick his own lieutenant, two administration officials confirmed.
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There have been questions about the future of McFarland, a former Fox News commentator, since the February dismissal of Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, the retired three-star general who hired her.
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Trump appointed McMaster, a U.S. Army lieutenant general, as his new national security adviser in February and gave him authority to remake the National Security Council as he saw fit. That authority led to last week’s removal of senior adviser Steve Bannon from the council’s principals committee. The officials described McFarland’s move as a promotion because Singapore is a key U.S. ally. The paperwork on her ambassadorial nomination is still being worked out.
McFarland’s departure comes just days after President Donald J. Trump ordered an airstrike in Syria in response to the country’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, allegedly using chemical weapons. It is unknown whether McFarland opposed the strike and if she clashed with H.R. McMaster on key national security issues.
It seems likely that McFarland was replaced by McMaster given her close ties to Flynn, and the current National Security Adviser is trying to establish an NSC that represents his support for greater military involvement in global affairs.
Do you think McFarland’s departure from the White House is a promotion or a demotion given her ties to Flynn? Share your thoughts below!