Bolton takes the helm on national security at time of tumult

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is bracing for a possible strike in Syria. Preparations for a high-risk North Korea summit are barreling forward. The White House staff is on edge, unsure who will be fired next, and when. And the national security team is holding its breath to see whether their new leader will be a shock to the system.

Enter John Bolton, the pugnacious former U.N. ambassador who took over Monday as President Donald Trump's national security adviser — the third person to hold the job in barely 14 months. Trump's selection of Bolton last month set off a guessing game in Washington as to just how much of an imprint his take-no-prisoners approach to foreign policy will have on Trump's team, already beleaguered and exhausted after a tumultuous first year.

If Bolton had any first-day jitters, he had little time to indulge them. A daunting to-do list has awaited him, punctuated over the weekend by a suspected chemical weapons attack by Syria's government that led Trump to start exploring potential military retaliation.

Although Bolton didn't formally start until Monday, he was spotted entering the White House over the weekend, carrying an umbrella as he strolled down the driveway toward the West Wing on a rainy Saturday.

And on Monday, he appeared at his first Cabinet meeting, where Trump talked up his forthcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, chided China for taking advantage of the United States and condemned the "atrocious" chemical attack in Syria. Bolton didn't speak, but was seated prominently behind Trump as reporters were briefly allowed into the meeting.

"I think he's going to be a fantastic representative of our team," Trump said later in the day. He pointed out the fact that Bolton was starting in the midst of an urgent situation with Syria, adding: "Interesting day."

Apprehension outside the White House about Bolton's influence has been matched by hand-wringing in the West Wing about whose fortunes will rise and fall in the Bolton era.

In Trump's reality-show-infused White House, it's become a truism that when a powerful aide departs — like the chief of staff, national security adviser or a Cabinet secretary — others who were considered aligned with that aide are often the next to go. There have been many such shake-ups, even in just the past few weeks. And Bolton, in his former jobs at the U.N. and at the State Department, developed a reputation as someone who doesn't suffer fools quietly.

Although it's unclear whether Bolton will "clean house," two U.S officials and two outside advisers to the administration said that the White House has been considering a significant staff shake-up in the part of the NSC that handles the Middle East. That comes as Trump prepares for a key decision next month on whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the 2015 accord that Bolton has long derided.

Before starting the job, Bolton provided the White House with names of staffers he wanted to bring in, but the list consisted mainly of people associated with his political action committee, The John Bolton Super PAC, one individual with knowledge of the list said. All of the individuals weren't authorized to discuss internal White House deliberations and requested anonymity.

It was unclear whether any of Bolton's favored candidates were being hired. In recent months, Trump's administration has increasingly struggled to find qualified candidates who are eligible for high-level security clearance, are willing to join the White House and haven't been disqualified for other reasons, such as past public criticism of Trump.

Even before Bolton started, rumors were circulating about potential exits on the national security team. The night before Bolton started, Michael Anton, the National Security Council's spokesman and a public face for the administration, resigned. Although the White House said Trump thanked Anton for his service, two people familiar with the situation said he resigned after learning he would be fired, and his departure marked another moment of upheaval in an administration marked by months of in-fighting and high-level departures.

In the weeks since being named to the post, Bolton has quietly sought to calm concerns that he would push a more militaristic, hawkish approach on the president, considering his previously expressed support for pre-emptive military action against North Korea and regime change in Iran.

Although he stayed out of the public eye, showing deference to outgoing national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Bolton privately told some foreign embassies and influential foreign policy experts that he planned to approach the job more like a traffic cop, guiding a decision-making process in which the president can hear competing views, individuals familiar with those conversations said.

Yet inevitably, Bolton's past statements in public jobs and as a Fox News commentator follow him into the job. At the White House press briefing Monday, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked about a comment Bolton made in 2013 on "Fox and Friends" — he said he would have opposed a congressional vote to use military force in Syria.

"The point of view that matters most here at the White House, as you well know, is the president's," Sanders replied.

Frank Gaffney, a longtime Bolton associate and former Reagan administration official who runs the far-right think tank Center for Security Policy, said Bolton views his role as "to help the president get his program implemented." Bolton has been "preparing his whole life to be in this job," Gaffney said.

Yet in his 2007 book "Surrender is Not an Option," Bolton reflected on his decision to take a job at the U.S. Agency for International Development after President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated rather than work at the White House, out of concern his own voice would not be heard.

"Being on the White House staff was fun," Bolton wrote. "But I wanted 'line' responsibility — to manage something and to change it, not simply to be 'staff,' even at the White House."

Bolton's start comes after the tortured exit for McMaster, Trump's second national security adviser, a three-star general who never developed a strong personal bond with the president. While the White House said McMaster's exit had been under discussion for some time and stressed it was not due to any one incident, it came after months of speculation about his future in the administration.

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP and Catherine Lucey at http://twitter.com/catherine_lucey</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — New national security adviser John Bolton is taking the helm of the National Security Council at a time of tumult on President Donald Trump's team and with a long to-do list awaiting him.

The U.S. military is bracing for a possible strike in Syria. Preparations for a high-risk North Korea summit are barreling forward. The White House staff is on edge, unsure who will be fired next. And the national security team is holding its breath to see whether their new leader will be a shock to the system.

Bolton's first day was Monday. He appeared at his first Cabinet meeting, where Trump discussed hot-spots like Syria, North Korea and China. Bolton didn't speak, but was seated prominently behind Trump as reporters were briefly allowed into the meeting.</s>White House deputy national security adviser for strategy Nadia Schadlow has resigned amid newly-installed John Bolton's ongoing shake-up of the National Security Council.

Sources told Fox News that Schadlow submitted her letter of resignation on Tuesday and discussed her transition with Bolton, who started this week as President Trump's new national security adviser. Her last day at the White House will be April 27.

Schadlow was hired by former national security adviser H.R. McMaster to lead the drafting of the National Security Strategy report, which was completed and released in December.

“I was proud to work with LTG H.R. McMcaster and the National Security Council team. Together, we captured your vision for a strong and confident America and developed your America First National Security Strategy—which turned that vision into a strategic direction for your Administration,” Schadlow wrote in her resignation letter to the president. “And I am particularly proud that you were able to submit your NSS to Congress earlier than any previous administration… on time and under budget!”

Schadlow added: “As Ambassador Bolton starts as National Security Advisor and he names his own leadership team, I am happy to help with the transition.”

White House officials told Fox News Schadlow discussed her resignation with Bolton to allow him to build his own leadership team at the NSC.

“The Administration thanks Dr. Schadlow for her service and leadership in crafting the President’s ‘America First’ National Security Strategy. The strategy has set a strong foundation going forward for protecting the homeland, promoting American prosperity, preserving peace through strength and advancing American influence,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement. “We wish Nadia and her family the best.”

Schadlow’s resignation comes just one day after White House Homeland Security Adviser Thomas Bossert announced he would leave his post.

The resignations come during Bolton’s first week at the White House.

A White House source told Fox News on Tuesday that Bossert’s resignation was part of Bolton’s “cleaning house” at the NSC.

A national security source also told Fox News that Bolton is considering a merger of the NSC and Homeland Security Council (HSC) within the White House. Right now, the NSC and HSC function as separate bodies, with their own meetings and policy issues, but share a staff.

Under the George W. Bush administration, the HSC and NSC worked as separate staffs. During the early years of the Obama administration, HSC and NSC merged, but later split.

The NSC primarily focuses on U.S. foreign policy and nuclear proliferation, while the HSC focuses on national defense-related issues like terrorism and border security.

If Bolton does merge the HSC and NSC, the bodies would hold joint meetings on mutually-agreed upon issues, and provide joint policy recommendations to the president, a national security source told Fox News.

President Trump appointed Bolton to replace National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster just last month. Bolton officially began at the White House on Monday.

Bolton has previously served in the administrations of presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, and served as a Bush lawyer during the 2000 Florida recount. Bolton served as U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security from 2001 to 2005.

The position of White House national security adviser does not require Senate confirmation.

Bolton is now Trump’s third national security adviser—replacing McMaster, who replaced Michael Flynn.

Fox News' John Roberts and Gillian Turner contributed to this report.</s>Bolton takes the helm on national security at time of tumult

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is bracing for a possible strike in Syria. Preparations for a high-risk North Korea summit are barreling forward. The White House staff is on edge, unsure who will be fired next, and when. And the national security team is holding its breath to see whether their new leader will be a shock to the system.

Enter John Bolton, the pugnacious former U.N. ambassador who took over Monday as President Donald Trump's national security adviser — the third person to hold the job in barely 14 months. Trump's selection of Bolton last month set off a guessing game in Washington as to just how much of an imprint his take-no-prisoners approach to foreign policy will have on Trump's team, already beleaguered and exhausted after a tumultuous first year.

If Bolton had any first-day jitters, he had little time to indulge them. A daunting to-do list has awaited him, punctuated over the weekend by a suspected chemical weapons attack by Syria's government that led Trump to start exploring potential military retaliation.

Although Bolton didn't formally start until Monday, he was spotted entering the White House over the weekend, carrying an umbrella as he strolled down the driveway toward the West Wing on a rainy Saturday.

And on Monday, he appeared at his first Cabinet meeting, where Trump talked up his forthcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, chided China for taking advantage of the United States and condemned the "atrocious" chemical attack in Syria. Bolton didn't speak, but was seated prominently behind Trump as reporters were briefly allowed into the meeting.

"I think he's going to be a fantastic representative of our team," Trump said later in the day. He pointed out the fact that Bolton was starting in the midst of an urgent situation with Syria, adding: "Interesting day."

Apprehension outside the White House about Bolton's influence has been matched by hand-wringing in the West Wing about whose fortunes will rise and fall in the Bolton era.

In Trump's reality-show-infused White House, it's become a truism that when a powerful aide departs — like the chief of staff, national security adviser or a Cabinet secretary — others who were considered aligned with that aide are often the next to go. There have been many such shake-ups, even in just the past few weeks. And Bolton, in his former jobs at the U.N. and at the State Department, developed a reputation as someone who doesn't suffer fools quietly.

Although it's unclear whether Bolton will "clean house," two U.S officials and two outside advisers to the administration said that the White House has been considering a significant staff shake-up in the part of the NSC that handles the Middle East. That comes as Trump prepares for a key decision next month on whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the 2015 accord that Bolton has long derided.

Before starting the job, Bolton provided the White House with names of staffers he wanted to bring in, but the list consisted mainly of people associated with his political action committee, The John Bolton Super PAC, one individual with knowledge of the list said. All of the individuals weren't authorized to discuss internal White House deliberations and requested anonymity.

It was unclear whether any of Bolton's favored candidates were being hired. In recent months, Trump's administration has increasingly struggled to find qualified candidates who are eligible for high-level security clearance, are willing to join the White House and haven't been disqualified for other reasons, such as past public criticism of Trump.

Even before Bolton started, rumors were circulating about potential exits on the national security team. The night before Bolton started, Michael Anton, the National Security Council's spokesman and a public face for the administration, resigned. Although the White House said Trump thanked Anton for his service, two people familiar with the situation said he resigned after learning he would be fired, and his departure marked another moment of upheaval in an administration marked by months of in-fighting and high-level departures.

In the weeks since being named to the post, Bolton has quietly sought to calm concerns that he would push a more militaristic, hawkish approach on the president, considering his previously expressed support for pre-emptive military action against North Korea and regime change in Iran.

Although he stayed out of the public eye, showing deference to outgoing national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Bolton privately told some foreign embassies and influential foreign policy experts that he planned to approach the job more like a traffic cop, guiding a decision-making process in which the president can hear competing views, individuals familiar with those conversations said.

Yet inevitably, Bolton's past statements in public jobs and as a Fox News commentator follow him into the job. At the White House press briefing Monday, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked about a comment Bolton made in 2013 on "Fox and Friends" — he said he would have opposed a congressional vote to use military force in Syria.

"The point of view that matters most here at the White House, as you well know, is the president's," Sanders replied.

Frank Gaffney, a longtime Bolton associate and former Reagan administration official who runs the far-right think tank Center for Security Policy, said Bolton views his role as "to help the president get his program implemented." Bolton has been "preparing his whole life to be in this job," Gaffney said.

Yet in his 2007 book "Surrender is Not an Option," Bolton reflected on his decision to take a job at the U.S. Agency for International Development after President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated rather than work at the White House, out of concern his own voice would not be heard.

"Being on the White House staff was fun," Bolton wrote. "But I wanted 'line' responsibility — to manage something and to change it, not simply to be 'staff,' even at the White House."

Bolton's start comes after the tortured exit for McMaster, Trump's second national security adviser, a three-star general who never developed a strong personal bond with the president. While the White House said McMaster's exit had been under discussion for some time and stressed it was not due to any one incident, it came after months of speculation about his future in the administration.

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP and Catherine Lucey at http://twitter.com/catherine_lucey</s>Bolton takes the helm on national security at time of tumult

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is bracing for a possible strike in Syria. Preparations for a high-risk North Korea summit are barreling forward. The White House staff is on edge, unsure who will be fired next, and when. And the national security team is holding its breath to see whether their new leader will be a shock to the system.

Enter John Bolton, the pugnacious former U.N. ambassador who took over Monday as President Donald Trump's national security adviser — the third person to hold the job in barely 14 months. Trump's selection of Bolton last month set off a guessing game in Washington as to just how much of an imprint his take-no-prisoners approach to foreign policy will have on Trump's team, already beleaguered and exhausted after a tumultuous first year.

If Bolton had any first-day jitters, he had little time to indulge them. A daunting to-do list has awaited him, punctuated over the weekend by a suspected chemical weapons attack by Syria's government that led Trump to start exploring potential military retaliation.

Although Bolton didn't formally start until Monday, he was spotted entering the White House over the weekend, carrying an umbrella as he strolled down the driveway toward the West Wing on a rainy Saturday.

And on Monday, he appeared at his first Cabinet meeting, where Trump talked up his forthcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, chided China for taking advantage of the United States and condemned the "atrocious" chemical attack in Syria. Bolton didn't speak, but was seated prominently behind Trump as reporters were briefly allowed into the meeting.

"I think he's going to be a fantastic representative of our team," Trump said later in the day. He pointed out the fact that Bolton was starting in the midst of an urgent situation with Syria, adding: "Interesting day."

Apprehension outside the White House about Bolton's influence has been matched by hand-wringing in the West Wing about whose fortunes will rise and fall in the Bolton era.

In Trump's reality-show-infused White House, it's become a truism that when a powerful aide departs — like the chief of staff, national security adviser or a Cabinet secretary — others who were considered aligned with that aide are often the next to go. There have been many such shake-ups, even in just the past few weeks. And Bolton, in his former jobs at the U.N. and at the State Department, developed a reputation as someone who doesn't suffer fools quietly.

Although it's unclear whether Bolton will "clean house," two U.S officials and two outside advisers to the administration said that the White House has been considering a significant staff shake-up in the part of the NSC that handles the Middle East. That comes as Trump prepares for a key decision next month on whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the 2015 accord that Bolton has long derided.

Before starting the job, Bolton provided the White House with names of staffers he wanted to bring in, but the list consisted mainly of people associated with his political action committee, The John Bolton Super PAC, one individual with knowledge of the list said. All of the individuals weren't authorized to discuss internal White House deliberations and requested anonymity.

It was unclear whether any of Bolton's favored candidates were being hired. In recent months, Trump's administration has increasingly struggled to find qualified candidates who are eligible for high-level security clearance, are willing to join the White House and haven't been disqualified for other reasons, such as past public criticism of Trump.

Even before Bolton started, rumors were circulating about potential exits on the national security team. The night before Bolton started, Michael Anton, the National Security Council's spokesman and a public face for the administration, resigned. Although the White House said Trump thanked Anton for his service, two people familiar with the situation said he resigned after learning he would be fired, and his departure marked another moment of upheaval in an administration marked by months of in-fighting and high-level departures.

In the weeks since being named to the post, Bolton has quietly sought to calm concerns that he would push a more militaristic, hawkish approach on the president, considering his previously expressed support for pre-emptive military action against North Korea and regime change in Iran.

Although he stayed out of the public eye, showing deference to outgoing national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Bolton privately told some foreign embassies and influential foreign policy experts that he planned to approach the job more like a traffic cop, guiding a decision-making process in which the president can hear competing views, individuals familiar with those conversations said.

Yet inevitably, Bolton's past statements in public jobs and as a Fox News commentator follow him into the job. At the White House press briefing Monday, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked about a comment Bolton made in 2013 on "Fox and Friends" — he said he would have opposed a congressional vote to use military force in Syria.

"The point of view that matters most here at the White House, as you well know, is the president's," Sanders replied.

Frank Gaffney, a longtime Bolton associate and former Reagan administration official who runs the far-right think tank Center for Security Policy, said Bolton views his role as "to help the president get his program implemented." Bolton has been "preparing his whole life to be in this job," Gaffney said.

Yet in his 2007 book "Surrender is Not an Option," Bolton reflected on his decision to take a job at the U.S. Agency for International Development after President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated rather than work at the White House, out of concern his own voice would not be heard.

"Being on the White House staff was fun," Bolton wrote. "But I wanted 'line' responsibility — to manage something and to change it, not simply to be 'staff,' even at the White House."

Bolton's start comes after the tortured exit for McMaster, Trump's second national security adviser, a three-star general who never developed a strong personal bond with the president. While the White House said McMaster's exit had been under discussion for some time and stressed it was not due to any one incident, it came after months of speculation about his future in the administration.

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP and Catherine Lucey at http://twitter.com/catherine_lucey</s>(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. military is bracing for a possible strike in Syria. Preparations for a high-risk North Korea summit are barreling forward. The White House staff is on edge, unsure who will be fired next, and when. And the national security team is holding its breath to see whether their new leader will be a shock to the system.

Enter John Bolton, the pugnacious former U.N. ambassador who took over Monday as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser — the third person to hold the job in barely 14 months. Trump’s selection of Bolton last month set off a guessing game in Washington as to just how much of an imprint his take-no-prisoners approach to foreign policy will have on Trump’s team, already beleaguered and exhausted after a tumultuous first year.

If Bolton had any first-day jitters, he had little time to indulge them. A daunting to-do list has awaited him, punctuated over the weekend by a suspected chemical weapons attack by Syria’s government that led Trump to start exploring potential military retaliation.

Although Bolton didn’t formally start until Monday, he was spotted entering the White House over the weekend, carrying an umbrella as he strolled down the driveway toward the West Wing on a rainy Saturday.

And on Monday, he appeared at his first Cabinet meeting, where Trump talked up his forthcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, chided China for taking advantage of the United States and condemned the “atrocious” chemical attack in Syria. Bolton didn’t speak, but was seated prominently behind Trump as reporters were briefly allowed into the meeting.

“I think he’s going to be a fantastic representative of our team,” Trump said later in the day. He pointed out the fact that Bolton was starting in the midst of an urgent situation with Syria, adding: “Interesting day.”

Apprehension outside the White House about Bolton’s influence has been matched by hand-wringing in the West Wing about whose fortunes will rise and fall in the Bolton era.

In Trump’s reality-show-infused White House, it’s become a truism that when a powerful aide departs — like the chief of staff, national security adviser or a Cabinet secretary — others who were considered aligned with that aide are often the next to go. There have been many such shake-ups, even in just the past few weeks. And Bolton, in his former jobs at the U.N. and at the State Department, developed a reputation as someone who doesn’t suffer fools quietly.

Although it’s unclear whether Bolton will “clean house,” two U.S officials and two outside advisers to the administration said that the White House has been considering a significant staff shake-up in the part of the NSC that handles the Middle East. That comes as Trump prepares for a key decision next month on whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the 2015 accord that Bolton has long derided.

Before starting the job, Bolton provided the White House with names of staffers he wanted to bring in, but the list consisted mainly of people associated with his political action committee, The John Bolton Super PAC, one individual with knowledge of the list said. All of the individuals weren’t authorized to discuss internal White House deliberations and requested anonymity.

It was unclear whether any of Bolton’s favored candidates were being hired. In recent months, Trump’s administration has increasingly struggled to find qualified candidates who are eligible for high-level security clearance, are willing to join the White House and haven’t been disqualified for other reasons, such as past public criticism of Trump.

Even before Bolton started, rumors were circulating about potential exits on the national security team. The night before Bolton started, Michael Anton, the National Security Council’s spokesman and a public face for the administration, resigned. Although the White House said Trump thanked Anton for his service, two people familiar with the situation said he resigned after learning he would be fired, and his departure marked another moment of upheaval in an administration marked by months of in-fighting and high-level departures.

In the weeks since being named to the post, Bolton has quietly sought to calm concerns that he would push a more militaristic, hawkish approach on the president, considering his previously expressed support for pre-emptive military action against North Korea and regime change in Iran.

Although he stayed out of the public eye, showing deference to outgoing national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Bolton privately told some foreign embassies and influential foreign policy experts that he planned to approach the job more like a traffic cop, guiding a decision-making process in which the president can hear competing views, individuals familiar with those conversations said.

Yet inevitably, Bolton’s past statements in public jobs and as a Fox News commentator follow him into the job. At the White House press briefing Monday, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked about a comment Bolton made in 2013 on “Fox and Friends” — he said he would have opposed a congressional vote to use military force in Syria.

“The point of view that matters most here at the White House, as you well know, is the president’s,” Sanders replied.

Frank Gaffney, a longtime Bolton associate and former Reagan administration official who runs the far-right think tank Center for Security Policy, said Bolton views his role as “to help the president get his program implemented.” Bolton has been “preparing his whole life to be in this job,” Gaffney said.

Yet in his 2007 book “Surrender is Not an Option,” Bolton reflected on his decision to take a job at the U.S. Agency for International Development after President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated rather than work at the White House, out of concern his own voice would not be heard.

“Being on the White House staff was fun,” Bolton wrote. “But I wanted ‘line’ responsibility — to manage something and to change it, not simply to be ‘staff,’ even at the White House.”

Bolton’s start comes after the tortured exit for McMaster, Trump’s second national security adviser, a three-star general who never developed a strong personal bond with the president. While the White House said McMaster’s exit had been under discussion for some time and stressed it was not due to any one incident, it came after months of speculation about his future in the administration.</s>Another high-ranking National Security Council staffer is leaving the White House as new National Security Adviser John Bolton makes his mark.

Nadia Schadlow tendered her resignation in a letter Tuesday. It's effective April 27.

The deputy national security adviser for strategy was a confidante of ex-National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and oversaw the president's first National Security Strategy document.

White House spokesman Raj Shah says the administration thanks Schadlow for "her service and leadership" and says, "We wish Nadia and her family the best."

She's one of a handful of high-level staffers who've chosen to leave or been pushed out since Bolton's appointment. They include spokesman Michael Anton and Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert.

More departures are expected in the coming weeks as Bolton works to build his team.</s>The deputy national security adviser for strategy will step down at the end of the month, a report said Wednesday.

Nadia Schadlow is the third senior national security official to leave the White House since President Trump named John Bolton as his national security adviser to replace H.R. McMaster, CNN reported.

Schadlow, a close adviser to McMaster, met with Bolton on Tuesday and submitted her resignation “to allow him to build his own NSC leadership team,” the report said, citing a White House official.

Her last day will be April 27.

White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert announced he was stepping down on Tuesday and spokesman Michael Anton resigned Sunday.

Bolton began at the White House on Monday.

The administration thanked Schadlow for helping craft the president’s “America First” national security strategy.

“The strategy has set a strong foundation going forward for protecting the homeland, promoting American prosperity, preserving peace through strength and advancing American influence,” White House spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement to CNN.</s>US Security Head John Bolton Would Risk Military Conflict with China to Achieve Goals, Former US Officials Says John

Selected excerpts of article published in the South China Morning Post:

According to the SCMP:

Bolton would use military force to coerce compliance from China, which US President Donald Trump has painted as an adversary, the Post was toldThe new US national security adviser is willing to risk a military conflict with China to achieve President Donald Trump’s goals for America, two former senior US officials have told the South China Morning Post.

John Bolton, who is fond of quoting the ancient Roman battle philosophy, “If you want peace, prepare for war”, would use military force to coerce compliance from China – which an increasingly hawkish White House has painted as a competitor, if not an adversary, the former officials who worked with Bolton said in interviews. (…)

Lawrence Wilkerson, who was chief of staff to former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, told the Post he doubted Trump would tolerate Bolton’s disagreeing with him at any point, in light of the bad endings that have come to Trump’s relationships with White House officials who have questioned the president’s past actions on trade, foreign policy and other issues.

However, “if Trump surprises me and does warm to Bolton, we are all in trouble – from North Korea to China,” Wilkerson said.

A major witness during Bolton’s Senate UN ambassadorship hearing in 2005, Wilkerson has labelled Bolton “the most dangerous American” for US foreign security policy.

Bolton’s views on ending the North Korean nuclear crisis are already well-known. He has advocated launching a pre-emptive strike on North Korea over its threat to use nuclear weapons against the US.

It is unclear what Bolton’s endgame for China would be.

It remains unclear now whether an aggressive Bolton could work with his new colleagues on the president’s national security team, including incoming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

When Mattis met Bolton in late March at the Pentagon, he was captured in an off-microphone exchange saying [jokingly]: “I heard you’re actually the devil incarnate.”</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South Korea’s national security adviser was in Washington on Wednesday for his first meeting with his new American counterpart, John Bolton, U.S. officials said, amid preparations for separate U.S. and South Korean summits with North Korea.

Chung Eui-yong, who is due to see Bolton on Thursday, led the South Korean delegation that met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month and then traveled to the United States to convey to President Donald Trump a summit invitation from Kim.

Trump accepted. He said on Monday that he planned to meet Kim in May or early June and hoped the discussions would ultimately lead to an end of the North’s nuclear weapons program.

A White House official confirmed Chung’s planned meeting with Bolton. The South Korean embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

South Korean officials are wary about Trump’s appointment of Bolton, known for his hawkish views, to replace H.R. McMaster as U.S. national security adviser.

Bolton, a 69-year-old former Fox News analyst and ex-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who took up his new post on Monday, has in the past called for regime change in North Korea and has previously been rejected as a negotiating partner by Pyongyang.

Bolton said last month after he was named to his new role that the United States must use the summit to “cut to the chase” on the denuclearization issue and accused Pyongyang of seeking to “buy more time” through talks with the United States to develop its nuclear weapons.

Japanese national security adviser Shotaro Yachi was also expected to visit Washington to meet Bolton ahead of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s talks with Trump next week, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said. A spokesman at the Japanese embassy said he could not confirm this.
South Korea national security adviser Chung Eui-yong visits Washington, D.C. and meets with his U.S. counterpart John R. Bolton.