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Bolton to Clean House At NSC ... Obama's People Should "Start Packing Their Sh**"

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President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he had chosen former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton to succeed U.S. Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as head of the National Security Council and chief foreign policy adviser.

To say that Bolton’s tough conservative outlook toward our nation’s enemies does not sit well with the left is an understatement, and it didn’t take long before rumors began to circulate that Bolton plans to “purge” the NSC once he takes command in April, Breitbart reported Wednesday.

Those rumors largely stemmed from an article in Foreign Policy that claimed Bolton is expected to “clean house” shortly after his arrival, and staffers who still remain from the previous administration are likely to be among the first to be fired.

Others believed to be “targeted” by Bolton in the upcoming transition include those who had been “disloyal” to Trump, those suspected or found to have made unauthorized leaks to the media and even some who were brought in under McMaster but not considered to be in line with Trump’s agenda.

“Bolton can and will clean house,” stated one former White House official, while another former official declared: “Everyone who was there during Obama years should start packing their sh**.”

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The former ambassador is expected to bring in his own team almost immediately, but given the rate at which security clearances are being processed for Trump administration staffers, it could take some time before he is able to truly “purge” the NSC of Obama holdovers and McMaster loyalists and put all of the people he wants in place.

Foreign Policy noted that it wouldn’t be all that unusual for Bolton to want to “clean house” and bring in like-minded people to fill the team. McMaster did much the same thing — though perhaps to a lesser extent — when he took over for short-lived National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

The outlet reported that Bolton — perhaps due to his recent years as a policy analyst on Fox News — was a “known quantity” by Trump, and pointed out that Bolton’s tough stance toward rivals like North Korea and Iran, as well as his dim view of multilateral diplomatic efforts by the United Nations and European Union, would seemingly place him in line with Trump’s “peace through strength” and “America First” doctrines.

But Bolton also holds a hard view towards Russia, and the Foreign Policy writers — perhaps still beholden to the liberal media-perpetuated view that Trump is soft on Russia — wondered if that supposed difference could create a conflict between the two men in the future.

Do you think Obama-era holdovers in the Trump administration should be let go?

Our readers may recall that Bolton met with Trump during the transition period in late 2016, but obviously was not hired or appointed to a position at that time. Foreign Policy reported that Bolton met with Trump again in July 2017 and was offered the deputy NSA position — with a promise that he would eventually receive the top spot. However, Bolton demurred on the deputy position and decided to wait until the top spot was cleared.

Some suspect that recent information believed to be leaked from McMaster’s NSC staff — specifically in relation to Trump’s recent congratulatory phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin following his re-election — may have sped up the timeline off McMaster’s exit from the White House.

Many of the assertions put forward by Foreign Policy are speculations based upon anonymous sources, and we all know how the liberal media’s increased reliance on anonymous sources has panned out for them over the past few years.

That said, it would not be the least bit surprising — and indeed quite refreshing — if these reports are true and Bolton does intend to “clean house” once he arrives. Individuals surreptitiously working to undermine Trump’s policies cannot be allowed to stay.

Here’s to hoping that former Ambassador Bolton really does lay down the law when he takes over the NSC and puts in place a team committed and prepared to fully implement Trump’s foreign policy agenda.

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Ben Marquis is a writer who identifies as a constitutional conservative/libertarian. He has written about current events and politics for The Western Journal since 2014. His focus is on protecting the First and Second Amendments.
Ben Marquis has written on current events and politics for The Western Journal since 2014. He reads voraciously and writes about the news of the day from a conservative-libertarian perspective. He is an advocate for a more constitutional government and a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, which protects the rest of our natural rights. He lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with the love of his life as well as four dogs and four cats.
Birthplace
Louisiana
Nationality
American
Education
The School of Life
Location
Little Rock, Arkansas
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics




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