Trump says he's considering 15 candidates for national security adviser

President Trump.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

President Trump is preparing to slim down an Apprentice season's worth of candidates in just one week.

After firing John Bolton as national security adviser on Tuesday, Trump said he's not planning to double up Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's duties and offer him the job. Still, he has 15 potential candidates for the job, and he's planning to narrow it down to one by next week, Trump told reporters Thursday.

Bolton's dismissal — or was it resignation? — brought speculation that Pompeo would add the role to his current responsibilities. Trump said Thursday he talked to Pompeo about the idea, but Pompeo "likes the idea of having somebody in there with him and I do too," he said. "A lot of people want the job. It's a great job. It's a lot of fun to work with Donald Trump. It's easy because I make all the decisions," Trump went on to say.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

After months of reported tension between Trump and Bolton and between Bolton and Pompeo, Trump said Tuesday that he had fired the veteran of GOP administrations the night before. Bolton quickly countered and said he had actually chosen to resign, and seemed to prove it with a terse letter with Tuesday's date on it.

While a 15-candidate docket seems intimidating, Trump does have fewer contenders for national security adviser than the Democratic party does for his job.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.