Tensions in the White House could lead to the departure of two top advisers to President Donald Trump. According to Reuters, four senior administration officials said that tensions between the President and National Security adviser H.R. McMaster, as well as White House chief of Staff John Kelly have risen in recent weeks to the point that either man could be near resigning.
However, the officials told Reuters that these tensions could disappear in the same way as past confrontations between Trump and his top aides. When White House spokesman Raj Shah was asked about the possibility of either man departing the White House, he said that “the President has full confidence in each member of the team.”
The Reuters report comes after Trump broke with McMaster on Saturday over whether indictments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation show “incontrovertible” evidence of Russia’s election meddling.
Meanwhile another report revealed that McMaster might return to the Pentagon. Several defense and administration officials stated that there is an ongoing search at the Pentagon for the right military position for McMaster, which would allow the three-star general to return to the Defense Department and be promoted with his fourth star.
The Hill reports that Trump’s frustration with his chief of staff has reportedly grown in recent weeks, specifically over the handling of the resignation of White House staff secretary Rob Porter. He resigned earlier this month when his two ex-wives accused him of domestic violence.
The chief of staff apparently was briefed by the FBI about Porter’s domestic violence, but did not explain why Porter was still working in the White House and with access to classified documents. Although several of Trump’s allies asked for Kelly to resign over his handling of the situation, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended Kelly last week at a press conference, saying that Trump “has confidence in his chief of staff.”
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