White House Losing Another High-Profile Member: Report

A day after Hope Hicks announced her resignation from the White House, "five people familiar with the discussions" say the Trump administration will be losing yet another high-profile member. In an exclusive report, NBC News states the White House will be replacing HR McMaster as national security adviser. The news comes just over a year after McMaster was tapped to replace Michael Flynn, who resigned after less than a month when he was caught lying to Vice President Pence about his dealings with Russian officials. Trump and McMaster have been at odds recently—McMaster riled the president when he said Russian meddling in the election was "incontrovertible"—and Defense Secretary James Mattis and chief of staff John Kelly are said to be behind the move to replace him.

An auto industry executive is said to be a top candidate to replace McMaster. Stephen Biegun is Ford's vice president of international governmental affairs but served on the National Security Council from 2001 to 2003. Former national security adviser Condoleezza Rice introduced him to Mattis, who liked him as a replacement for McMaster. A Ford spokesperson says Biegun "has no plans to leave" the company. A source close to Mattis says the Defense secretary has said he will make sure McMaster lands on his feet after leaving the Trump administration, either by giving him another three-star job in the Army or promoting him to a four-star general. Read the full story here. (More HR McMaster stories.)