Sept. 10 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he fired national security adviser John Bolton, and plans to name a successor next week.
Trump announced the move in a tweet.
“I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,” he wrote. “I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the administration, and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning.
“I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new national security adviser next week.”
Bolton confirmed his departure in a tweet.
“I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow.'”
Trump hasn’t elaborated on what led to Bolton’s dismissal, but internal strife over a canceled plan to host Taliban negotiators at Camp David may have been a factor, CNN reported.
The administration planned a secret peace meeting among U.S., Taliban and Afghanistan leaders last weekend, but canceled on the same day a suicide bomber attacked Kabul.
Earlier Tuesday, the White House press office said Bolton would appear with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at a briefing.
Since taking office more than two years ago, Trump has had three national security advisers — Bolton, Michael Flynn, H.R. McMaster. Bolton had been in the job since April 2018.
