As Cortney covered, President Donald J. Trump announced Tuesday that he fired his national security advisor John Bolton:
President Trump has fired his national security advisor John Bolton. He shared the news on Twitter on Tuesday, explaining that he "disagreed strongly" with many of Bolton's suggestions.
....I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2019
From the get go, most understood that Trump and Bolton had disagreements over military force in foreign intervention for the president's "America First" policy:
Bolton, who served in this capacity since April of 2018, also reportedly butted heads once or twice with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The former, one of the architects of the 2003 Iraq War, has often been criticized as a war hawk. Trump, by contrast, has maintained his long held opposition to the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq and has frequently voiced his desire to get out of other wars
The question now is who will replace Bolton. According to some sources, Fox News reports there are several names being floated around.
"Names being floated by sources to replace #Bolton include: - @RichardGrenell (Ambassador to Germany) - Brian Hook (Special Representative for Iran) - Steve Beigan (Special Representative for North Korea (first reported by @GillianHTurner )," Fox News White House Correspondent Kevin Corke tweeted.
#NEW #speculation Names being floated by sources to replace #Bolton include:
— Kevin Corke (@kevincorke) September 10, 2019
- @RichardGrenell (Ambassador to Germany)
- Brian Hook (Special Representative for Iran)
- Steve Beigan (Special Representative for North Korea
(first reported by @GillianHTurner )
Steve Nelson of the Washington Examiner also reports that sources say Retired Army Col. Douglas MacGregor and Ricky Waddell, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are being considered.
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Possible candidates to replace John Bolton include:
— Steven Nelson (@stevennelson10) September 10, 2019
-Retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor
-Ricky Waddell, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffhttps://t.co/uEjADtQrPj
It is expected that Bolton's successor will be announced sometime next week. It should be noted that President Trump campaigned for president by promising to end regime changes and wars in the Middle East. This was a reason many Trump supporters, from the Democratic and Republican party, voted for him. He could pick an adviser closer to that worldview in order to try to continue that promise ahead of the 2020 election. This isn't to say he would be making decisions based on politics, solely that his original instincts tend toward non-intervention policy.
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