Trump ousts McMaster, names John Bolton as new national security adviser
US President Donald Trump has chosen John Bolton as his new national security adviser, replacing H.R. McMaster.
Mr Trump said that Bolton would replace Mr McMaster, his current national security adviser role in a tweet this evening.
Mr Bolton, a former US ambassador to the UN, has advocated using military force against Iran and North Korea and has taken a hard line against Russia.
The 69-year-old, who has long been a polarising figure in Washington foreign policy circles, becomes Mr Trump's third national security adviser in 14 months.
Mr Bolton joins a Trump national security team that with the planned replacement of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by CIA chief Mike Pompeo, is increasingly populated by figures who share Trump's penchant for exercising US power unilaterally.
As the State Department's top arms control official under President George W. Bush, he was a leading advocate of the 2003 invasion of Iraq - which was later found to have been based on bogus and exaggerated intelligence about then President Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorism.
In recent years, as a conservative media commentator, Mr Bolton has advocated hardline positions on stopping Pyongyang from getting nuclear weapons that could threaten the United States.
He has also advocated getting rid of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a pact Trump has also heavily criticised.
Mr Trump said: "I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9."
I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9.
Mr McMaster joins a long list of senior officials who have either resigned or been fired since Mr Trump took office in January 2017.
Others include former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, strategist Steve Bannon, national security adviser Michael Flynn, FBI Director James Comey, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, health secretary Tom Price, communications directors Hope Hicks and Anthony Scaramucci, economic adviser Gary Cohn and press secretary Sean Spicer.
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