White House responds to report of preparations to oust H.R. McMaster

The White House says there are no personnel announcements at this time, in response to a Thursday report from NBC News that White House chief of staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis are engineering the replacement of H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser.

“We frequently face rumor and innuendo about senior administration officials. There are no personnel announcements at this time,” said Raj Shah, principal deputy press secretary, in a statement provided to reporters.

The report cited five sources familiar with discussions, claiming the White House is preparing for McMaster’s departure as early as next month. NBC claimed Stephen Biegun, a current Ford executive with national security experience from the George W. Bush administration, is a top contender to replace McMaster. 

McMaster is the president’s second national security adviser, after former national security adviser Michael Flynn was ousted in February of last year after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contact with a Russian official. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in December. 

The White House has seen a handful of top departures lately, the most recent one being White House communications director Hope Hicks. Hicks gave a tearful goodbye to her colleagues as she announced her resignation Wednesday, as CBS News has reported.