After 24 hours of more-than-speculative stories that President Donald Trump would give Secretary of State Mike Pompeo the dual portfolio as National Security Adviser, the president told reporters Thursday afternoon that he would not do this after all.
According to Trump, Pompeo threw cold water on the idea when he told Trump earlier that day he “liked the idea of someone [else] in there [to replace ousted National Security Advisor John Bolton].”
In so doing, Pompeo passed on becoming the most powerful foreign policy overseer since Henry Kissinger. Under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, Kissinger held the jobs of secretary of state and national security adviser simultaneously.
Speculation about Pompeo holding both positions first surfaced in Newsmax two days ago. Following the news of Bolton’s exit, Chris Whipple, author of the much-acclaimed “The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency,” told us that Kissinger “wore both hats” and “[m]aybe Trump will give Pompeo both titles.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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