U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to remove H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing five unnamed people with knowledge of the plans.
According to the report, the president is actively discussing potential replacements for McMaster.
NBC Newsfirst reported earlier this month that the White House is preparing to replace McMaster. The White House at the time would not comment.
According to The Washington Post, Trump is now comfortable with ousting McMaster, with whom he never personally gelled, but is willing to take time executing the move because he wants to ensure both that the three-star Army general is not humiliated and that there is a strong successor lined up.
Trump recently told White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly that he wants McMaster out and asked for help weighing replacement options, according to two people familiar with their conversations. The president has complained that McMaster is too rigid and that his briefings go on too long and seem irrelevant.
Several candidates have emerged as possible McMaster replacements, including John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Keith Kellogg, the chief of staff of the National Security Council.
Another name that came up after the initial report on McMaster was that of Safra Catz, an Israeli-born co-president of the Oracle tech corporation.
If McMaster is indeed replaced, it would be the latest in a series of changes. Earlier this week, Trump dismissed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
On Wednesday, he named conservative TV analyst Larry Kudlow to replace his top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, who stepped down over trade disagreements.
Two weeks ago, White House communications director Hope Hicks resigned from her post.