White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah shot down a report that national security adviser H.R. McMaster is on his way out of the White House.
Shah said rumors often emerge about senior officials in the administration, but there are no new staffing developments to share after NBC News reported there are ongoing efforts to boot McMaster from his post.
“We frequently face rumor and innuendo about senior administration officials,” Shah said in a statement. “There are no personnel announcements at this time.”
The statement comes after a report was published earlier Thursday claiming the White House was planning to oust McMaster as soon as next month, a move initiated by chief of staff John Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, according to NBC News.
In the running to replace McMaster is auto industry executive Stephen Biegun, who is the vice president of international governmental affairs for the Ford Motor Company.
National Security Council spokesperson Michael Anton said President Trump has disputed the report and praised McMaster.
“I was just with President Trump and H.R. McMaster in the Oval Office,” Anton said in a brief statement shared with the White House press pool. “President Trump said that the NBC News story is ‘fake news,’ and told McMaster that he is doing a great job.”
McMaster’s future at the White House has been a topic of speculation before, and some have noted he and President Trump have a rocky relationship. But in the past, McMaster has dismissed rumors that he would be departing the White House.
“I have a job. It’s a tremendous honor to do this job … and it is my intention to go as long and as hard as I can to serve the president and the nation,” McMaster said in January.
McMaster was hired in 2017 after former national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned from his post after it was revealed he provided misleading information to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian officials.
