President-elect Trump is naming former Pentagon official and former Fox News national security analyst K.T. McFarland as his deputy national security adviser, according to the transition team.
“I am proud that KT has once again decided to serve our country and joined my nationa security team,” Trump said in a statement. “She has tremendous experience and innate talent that will complement the fantastic team we are assembling, which is crucial because nothing is more important than keeping our people safe.”
McFarland, in the same statement, said she was “honored and humbled that he asked me to be a part of his team.”
Trump’s move means she would report to his designated national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn. Flynn tweeted his congratulations on Friday.
So proud & honored to have KT McFarland as part of our National Security team. She will help us #MAGA
— General Flynn (@GenFlynn) November 25, 2016
McFarland has held national security positions going back to the Nixon administration. She was an aide to Henry Kissinger in the 1970s and served on the Senate Armed Services Committee staff after that. According to her Fox News biography, she was senior speechwriter to Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and later Pentagon spokeswoman. She ran for the U.S. Senate as a Republican in New York in 2006.
McFarland will join two other women chosen for Trump administration posts this week: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for U.N. ambassador and Betsy DeVos for education security. But unlike Haley and DeVos, the McFarland appointment does not involve Senate confirmation.
Flynn appeared as McFarland’s guest on her show “DEFCON 3” in November and September, during which they discussed Iraqi efforts to retake the city of Mosul, Iraq, from the Islamic State and how the economy is the greatest threat facing the U.S.
Last week, she referred to Flynn and retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, who is in the running for defense secretary, as “great choices.”
