Ezra Cohen-Watnick, one of President Trump’s top allies on the National Security Council and an Iran hawk, has been dismissed from his position, a White House official said on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Cohen-Watnick was brought on as senior director for intelligence on the NSC by former national security adviser Michael Flynn. In that role, Cohen-Watnick reportedly pushed for a tougher foreign policy stance on Iran. He was also a leading proponent of the theory that Obama holdovers have targeted Trump with strategic leaks of classified information.
H.R. McMaster, Flynn’s replacement as national security adviser, has reportedly attempted to remove Cohen-Watnick from the NSC in the past. Those previous attempts were reportedly blocked by senior Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner.
Conservative Review first reported on Wednesday that Cohen-Watnick had been canned. A White House official issued a statement confirming Cohen-Watnick’s departure in a statement soon after.
In that statement, the White House official’s statement suggested that McMaster fired Cohen-Watnick.
“[McMaster] has determined that, at this time, a different set of experiences is best-suited to carrying that work forward. General McMaster is confident that Ezra will make many further significant contributions to national security in another position in the administration,” the statement reads.
McMaster had a hand in the recent firing of other Trumpists on the NSC.
The Atlantic reported on Wednesday that Rich Higgins, the director for strategic planning at NSC, was fired on July 21 over a memo he wrote railing against “deep state” threats against the Trump presidency.
Last week, McMaster fired retired Lt. Colonel Derek Harvey from the NSC. Harvey, who was also hired by Flynn, was Trump’s top adviser on Middle East issues. McMaster reportedly pushed Harvey out in order to bring in his own personnel. Retired Army Col. Mike Bell has since been named to replace Harvey.