McMaster out, Bolton in as national security adviser
WASHINGTON — Charging ahead with the dramatic remaking of his White House, President Donald Trump said Thursday he would replace national security adviser H.R. McMaster with the former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, a foreign policy hawk entering a White House facing key decisions on Iran and North Korea.
After weeks of speculation about McMaster’s future, Trump and the respected three-star general put a positive face on the departure, making no reference to the growing public friction between them. Trump tweeted Thursday that McMaster had done “an outstanding job &will always remain my friend.” He said Bolton will take over April 9 as his third national security adviser in just over a year.
The national security shakeup comes as the president is increasingly shedding advisers who once eased the Republican establishment’s concerns about the foreign policy and political novice in the White House. McMaster is the sixth close adviser or aide to announce a departure in a turbulent six weeks, joining ally Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was unceremoniously fired last week.
The White House has said the president is seeking to put new foreign policy leaders in place ahead of not-yet-scheduled meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. Bolton is likely to add a hard-line influence to those talks, as well as deliberations over whether to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.
The White House said Thursday that McMaster’s exit had been under discussion for some time and stressed it was not due to any one incident, including this week’s stunning leak about Trump’s recent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
House OKs $1.3 trillion budget bill, but Senate stalls
WASHINGTON — Congress was poised to pass a giant $1.3 trillion spending bill that would end the budget battles for now, but not without risking another shutdown as conservatives objected to big outlays on Democratic priorities at a time when Republicans control the House, Senate and White House.
This would be the third federal shutdown this year, an outcome both parties want to avoid. But in crafting a sweeping deal that busts budget caps, they’ve stirred conservative opposition and set the contours for the next funding fight ahead of the midterm election.
The House easily approved the measure Thursday, 256-167, a bipartisan tally that underscored the popularity of the compromise, which funds the government through September. It beefs up military and domestic programs, delivering federal funds to every corner of the country.
But action stalled in the Senate, as conservatives ran the clock in protest. They can’t stop the bill indefinitely. But without agreement, voting would spill into the weekend, past the midnight Friday deadline to fund the government.
From wire sources
“Shame, shame. A pox on both Houses – and parties,” tweeted Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who spent the afternoon tweeting details found in the 2,200-page bill that was released the night before. “No one has read it. Congress is broken.”
School shooting victim ‘brain dead,’ life support ending
GREAT MILLS, Md. (AP) — A teenage girl who was shot when a classmate opened fire inside their Maryland high school is brain dead and is being removed from life support, her mother said Thursday.
Melissa Willey told news reporters Thursday night that her daughter, 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey has “no life left in her.” She said Jaelynn would be removed from life support during the evening, by the family’s decision.
The mother, holding a young baby, said that with the shooting, “On Tuesday … our lives changed completely and totally forever. My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives.”
The teen was shot Tuesday at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County. Within a minute, a school resource officer responded and fired on the shooter, but it’s not yet clear whether the shooter was killed by the officer’s bullet or took his own life.
Legal shake-up in Trump team may suggest shift in strategy
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s lead lawyer in the special counsel’s Russia investigation resigned Thursday, shaking up the legal team just as Trump intensifies attacks on an inquiry he calls nothing more than a witch hunt.
The departure of attorney John Dowd removes the primary negotiator and legal strategist who had been molding Trump’s defense. It also comes just days after the Trump legal team added a new lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova, who has accused FBI officials of being involved in a “brazen plot” to exonerate Hillary Clinton in the email investigation and to “frame” Trump for nonexistent crimes.
Dowd confirmed his decision in an email to The Associated Press, saying, “I love the President and wish him well.” Dowd said he made the decision voluntarily and he denied reports that his departure had to do with Trump ignoring his legal advice. Dowd said he formally resigned Thursday morning.
It already was a delicate time in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Trump’s attorneys, including Dowd, have been negotiating with Mueller over the scope and terms of an interview of the president. Trump has told reporters that he was eager to speak with Mueller, but Dowd has been far more apprehensive, and the lawyers have not publicly committed to making Trump available for questioning.
Asked Thursday whether he still wants to speak with Mueller’s team, Trump told reporters, “Yes, I would like to.”
