President Trump tweeted on Thursday evening that National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster is being replaced by John Bolton, a former United States ambassador to the United Nations and a Fox News analyst.
"I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job and will always remain my friend," Trump said. "There will be an official contact handover on 4/9." Bolton is known for being a hard-line conservative, and has had regular contact with Trump throughout his presidency, discussing foreign policy.
McMaster, an Army lieutenant general, will retire from the military, several officials told The New York Times. He's been planning his departure for weeks now, they said, and Trump made it clear he wanted his new national security team in place ahead of his eventual meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. There has always been some amount of tension between Trump and McMaster, White House officials told the Times, especially when McMaster publicly commented on Russia meddling in the 2016 presidential election. McMaster was Trump's second national security adviser, following the short tenure of Michael Flynn, who has since pleaded guilty of making a false statement to the FBI and is cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.