McMaster Faces Limits in Overhauling Flynn’s NSC

President Donald Trump’s newly installed national security advisor was promised full authority to reorganize the National Security Council to his liking after his predecessor was forced to resign after misleading the vice president about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.

But Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster is discovering the limits to any ambitious overhaul at the NSC, leaving him relying on people in many cases recruited by the former national security advisor, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, and other Trump confidantes. A wholesale purge is not expected, and several key NSC officials focused on the Middle East and other vital areas will keep their positions in the near term, a senior White House official told Foreign Policy.

The survivors, whose fate came into question after Flynn’s surprise ouster, include: K.T. McFarland, the deputy national security advisor; Michael Anton, the deputy assistant to the president for strategic communications; and Victoria Coates, the senior director for strategic assessments who previously worked as an art historian and aide to Ted Cruz.

Read the full article at Foreign Policy.