President Trump’s choice to be the next national security adviser will need to be confirmed by the Senate if he wants to keep his rank.
Trump announced over the weekend that Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster will succeed Mike Flynn as national security adviser, a position that does not require Senate confirmation.
But all three- and four-star military officers are appointed to their jobs by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Any time an officer changes jobs, he must be reconfirmed in the new position at the same rank, under Title 10, Section 601 of U.S. Code, said Mark Cancian, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Because McMaster is a three-star Army officer, and White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he will remain on active duty in this new role, he will need to face this Senate confirmation process.
“He doesn’t need to be confirmed to be the national security adviser. The president needs the advice and consent of the Senate to move him as a three star,” Cancian said.
Arnold Punaro, a former staff director at the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said that McMaster will need to be confirmed for the rank, not the position, and that the adviser job will need to be designated as a three-star billet by the Senate.
“If he wants to be a three-star active duty military officer and serve as national security adviser, he’ll have to go back through the Senate confirmation process,” Punaro said.
If the Senate rejects McMaster, something Cancian said would be very surprising given the overwhelmingly positive response he’s gotten in Congress, he could still serve in the role if he’s demoted to a two-star.
The approval of high-ranking military officers is “normally a very routine thing,” Cancian said. The Senate will regularly approve batches of officers to be appointed to three- and four-star officers.
Both experts said it would be “unprecedented” for McMaster to have to testify at a confirmation hearing. However, Cancian said it’s within the Senate’s purview to call him.
