President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that he has chosen Kathleen Troia “K.T.” McFarland to be his deputy national security adviser. McFarland is currently a national security analyst for Fox News and has served in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan White Houses.
Trump also has asked attorney Donald McGahn to serve as his White House counsel, NBC News reports. McGahn was Trump’s campaign lawyer and is currently his counselor for the transition effort.
Politico has reported that McGahn, who has longstanding familial ties to the Trump organization and an “inside the Beltway” background as a former chairman of the FEC, may be tasked with putting distance between the president-elect and his myriad of business interests, which critics have argued could present unprecedented number of conflicts of interest and potential Constitutional crisis for the incoming administration.
“Don has a brilliant legal mind, excellent character and a deep understanding of constitutional law,” said President-elect Trump in a statement on Friday. “He will play a critical role in our administration, and I am grateful that he is willing to serve our country at such a high-level capacity.”
The Oxford-educated McFarland has vast experience working in national security and defense positions, and like retired general Michael Flynn is considered a “hardliner” in the fight against terrorism. She confirmed to Fox News that she has accepted the position of deputy national security adviser.
“I am proud that KT has once again decided to serve our country and join my national 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.”
“The American people chose Donald J. Trump to lead them for a reason,” McFarland said in a statement. “He has the courage, brilliance and energy to Make America Great Again, and nobody has called foreign policy right more than President-elect Trump, and he gets no credit for it. I’m honored and humbled that he has asked me to be part of his team.”
From 1970-1976 McFarland served as an aide to Dr. Henry Kissinger on the National Security Council. In the Reagan White House she served as a principal deputy assistant secretary of defense Pentagon spokesman.
McFarland ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2006 against Hillary Clinton in New York.
Retired general Michael Flynn, who will serve as national security adviser, welcomed her nomination on Twitter:
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
https://youtu.be/YIB1j5c8rUM
McFarland appeared on Fox Business last night to discuss the failures of globalization and the two biggest geopolitical threats against the United States: Iran and Russia.
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