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

(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.

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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.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.