Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster reportedly turned down posts that would have earned the three-star general his fourth star, but the White House won’t say what positions he was offered.
McMaster was ousted from his role as White House national security advisor Thursday. Numerous reports anticipated the move but estimated it wouldn’t come until after he’d been lined up for a post that would have given him his fourth star.
McMaster declined any four-star positions he was offered and is instead retiring from the military without a new job, The New York Times reported.
A White House spokesman declined to provide The Daily Caller News Foundation with the positions McMaster was offered and deferred to McMaster for comment. A National Security Council spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.
McMaster could serve as the head of Forces Command at Fort Brag in North Carolina or command the forces in Afghanistan or Korea, previous reporting predicted.
McMaster’s frequent clashes with President Donald Trump and others in the administration, including Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, over a variety of issues were widely reported over past months.
Former ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton — who’s reportedly held a more comfortable relationship with Trump and has a hawkish foreign policy stance — will replace McMaster.
Similarly, Trump recently replaced Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who also holds a more aggressive position and has discussed regime change in North Korea.
McMaster’s departure was a mutual decision, The New York Times reported, and Trump issued a statement praising McMaster’s service.
McMaster’s departure was discussed for weeks and “really, the only issue that had been left open is timing,” he told The New York Times.
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