On Thursday, NBC News reported that National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster is going to be replaced as early as next month in a move coordinated by at least two top White House officials.
Leading the shakeup are White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis, NBC News reports, citing five people who are familiar with the matter.
The report also names auto industry executive Stephen Biegun as one of the leading candidates who is being considered to replace McMaster. NBC News notes:
Biegun, who currently serves as vice president of international governmental affairs for the Ford Motor Company, is no stranger to the White House. He served on the National Security Council staff from 2001 to 2003, including as a senior staffer for then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Rice introduced Biegun to Mattis, recommending him for a position in the administration, according to a close associate of Rice. After Mattis met with Biegun at a think tank event he was convinced Biegun would be a good fit for the national security adviser role, the associate said.
McMaster, who replaced Michael Flynn, was widely criticized over his views of Islam as he “told his staff that Muslims who commit terrorist acts are perverting their religion, rejecting a key ideological view of other senior Trump advisers and signaling a potentially more moderate approach to the Islamic world,” The New York Times reported last year.
McMaster also was in favor of the Iran nuclear deal and was reportedly trying to save the deal that Trump wanted to get rid of after many experts harshly criticized the Obama-era deal.