US President Donald Trump is set to interview former UN ambassador John Bolton and at least three military officers to fill the post of national security adviser, the White House said.
Trump will speak Sunday with Bolton, who served as the US envoy to the UN under former president George W. Bush, and had previously been considered for the deputy secretary of state, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Saturday.
The other candidates include Army strategist Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, acting national security adviser Keith Kellogg and West Point superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, Spicer added.
Finding a replacement for the ousted national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has been a challenge for the new administration.
Trump’s first choice, retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, has already turned down the offer.
The challenge could aggravate as several lawmakers, such as Senator Rand Paul, have opposed the idea of Bolton joining the Trump administration. They are concerned about Bolton’s aggressive stances on foreign and military policies.
Bolton has openly stated that he shares Trump’s strong antipathy toward the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers including the US.
Flynn, who has been an instrumental player in Trump’s inner circle, resigned from his post on Monday after reports surfaced that the Justice Department warned the president last month that Flynn had lied regarding his communications with the Russian ambassador and was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by Moscow.
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