President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he fired National Security Advisor John Bolton over stark policy disagreements, vowing to appoint a successor next week.
Trump did not indicate who he is considering to replace Bolton, but said on Twitter that he asked him for his resignation Monday night, a timeline quickly disputed by the ousted top aide.
“I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning,” Trump said.
Bolton denied being fired and said he had resigned. The news — coming days after Trump caused uproar by revealing he was canceling secret talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban — stunned Washington.
Bolton is a veteran and controversial figure closely linked to the invasion of Iraq and other aggressive foreign policy decisions.
He had been seen as one of the main driving forces in the White House’s muscular approach to Iran, Venezuela and other trouble spots.
