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Trump national security aide McFarland may become envoy to Singapore: official

[April 10, 2017] By Steve Holland

PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s deputy national security adviser, K.T. McFarland, is expected to step down and has been offered the position of U.S. ambassador to Singapore, a U.S. official said on Sunday.

The move will be seen as a victory for Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, who is retooling the national security team he inherited from retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who resigned as Trump's first national security adviser in February.

McFarland, 65, is a former national security analyst for Fox News and was one of Trump's original hires after he won the presidential election on Nov. 8.

The exact date of her departure was unclear, said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

News of her pending departure came less than a week after Trump removed his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, from the National Security Council at McMaster's urging. Bannon had a seat on the council's "principals committee," which included the secretaries of state, defense and other ranking aides. Flynn was forced to resign on Feb. 13 over his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, before Trump took office on Jan. 20.

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Kathleen Troia "K.T." McFarland arrives at Trump Tower in New York, U.S., January 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar

McFarland's expected departure will likely elevate the status of Dina Powell, who is deputy national security adviser for strategy. She had served in Republican President George W. Bush's State Department, and had advised Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, during Trump's transition to the presidency.

Trump's White House has been rife with infighting and palace intrigue as the president has struggled to get past some early stumbles.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by James Dalgleish and Jonathan Oatis)

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