Donald Trump is about to fire yet another top adviser, this time for the sin of being “annoying”
Donald Trump has fired so many top people recently from his administration, or forced them to resign, or tried and failed to convince them to resign, or arbitrarily shifted them from one job to another, it’s been difficult to keep track. For instance Anthony Scaramucci was fired after just eleven days. But now it turns out Trump is out to fire yet another top adviser, and for the most absurd reason to date.
Here’s what New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush has to say: “Admin sources told me they think Kelly hiring makes it more likely Trump ousts McMaster (who annoys him) replaces him w Pompeo.” (link). No further details have been provided as to just how likely this is, or when it might happen. But it means we’ve reached the point where Donald Trump is now preparing to fire one of his top military advisers, thus creating additional instability and yet another vacancy somewhere down the line, simply because he finds that military adviser annoying. And yet it somehow gets even worse.
Trump would be able to shift Mike Pompeo from his current role of CIA Director to National Security Adviser without needing a confirmation process. But he would then need to get his new CIA Director nominee approved by a Senate that’s becoming increasingly reluctant to do give him any possible escape from his Russia scandal. That could prompt Trump to simply leave the position vacant, thus putting yet another agency in the hands of an acting Director, as is already the case with the FBI.
This would also mean that Donald Trump would be on his third National Security Adviser in just six months, and arguably his fifth choice. Michael Flynn lasted just twenty-four days in the position before resigning for his role in the Russia scandal. Robert Harward then turned down the job in profane fashion. David Petraeus was also reportedly offered the position, even though he’s still on probation for leaking classified intel, but he also didn’t want the job. That means the ‘annoying’ H.R. McMaster was his fourth choice, and Pompeo would be the fifth.
