Democrats, ‘Never Trumpers’ Thrilled at Prospect of Harward as National Security AdviserCurrent staffers anxious over reports Harward plans to ‘start over’http://freebeacon.com/national-security/democrats-never-trumpers-thrilled-prospect-harward-national-security-adviser/BY: Adam Kredo
February 15, 2017 10:39 pm
An ally of potential national security adviser Robert Harward is soliciting resumes from a who's who of Republican foreign policy insiders and says the retired admiral and former Navy SEAL plans to revamp the White House’s National Security Council following the resignation earlier this week of Michael Flynn, according to an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Mary Beth Long, a former CIA officer and official in the George W. Bush administration, recently emailed a handful of prominent foreign policy leaders in Washington, D.C., to gauge interest in serving under Harward.
Long, who signed a letter critical of Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign but later changed her opinion of the New York real estate developer, said in the email that "Bob Harward is going to ‘start over' at the NSC in about two weeks."
Republicans and Democrats alike have championed the selection of Harward, who served on the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration and is close to Defense Secretary James Mattis. This includes several former Obama administration officials such as Tommy Vietor, who served as the NSC’s spokesman under Obama.
But Long's email, as well as the positive reception of Harward among former Obama officials, has spooked several current officials who worked under Flynn. They are concerned that Harward is planning to wholly revamp the NSC and remove staffers close to Flynn’s former team.
Harward "plans a housecleaning of Trump's National Security Council staff," read the headline on an article Wednesday in Foreign Policy.
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