Trump picks John Bolton, 'true friend of Israel,' as national security adviser

Charging ahead with the dramatic remaking of his White House, President Donald Trump announced the ouster of National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, to be replaced by former Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, a foreign policy hawk entering a White House facing key decisions on Iran and North Korea.

After weeks of speculation about McMaster’s future, Trump and the respected three-star general put a positive face on the Thursday departure, making no reference to the growing public friction between them. Trump tweeted that McMaster had done “an outstanding job and will always remain my friend.”

The role of national security adviser does not require Senate confirmation.

The White House has said the president is seeking to put new foreign policy leaders in place ahead of a not-yet-scheduled meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. Another consideration appears to be the upcoming May 12 deadline to recertify the Iran nuclear agreement.

Bolton has been a force in Republican foreign policy circles for decades, having served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. He has since been a senior fellow of the conservative American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known for his hardline approach to North Korea as well as his strong condemnation of the Obama administration’s policies on Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s exit just over a week ago, to be replaced by CIA director John Pompeo, also forecast trouble for McMaster, who had aligned himself with the embattled secretary of state in seeking to soften some of Trump’s most dramatic foreign policy impulses.

‘Trump continues to appoint true friends of Israel’

Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, applauded the choice, saying Bolton has been a “true friend of Israel going back many years.”

Education Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted, “Great appointment of Amb. John Bolton, an extraordinary security expert, experienced diplomat and a stalwart friend of Israel. Good luck John!”

“President Trump continues to appoint true friends of Israel to senior positions, and John Bolton is one of the most prominent of them,” Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said Friday morning. “Bolton has great experience and original thinking, and I wish him great success in his position.”