Trump's national security spokesperson plans to leave White House

Michael Anton also worked for President George W. Bush and is a former BlackRock MD

WASHINGTON: The spokesperson for President Donald Trump's National Security Council plans to leave the administration, the White House said on Sunday, a day before Trump's third national security adviser formally takes up his post.

Michael Anton, who also worked for former President George
W. Bush's National Security Council and is a former BlackRock
managing director, is leaving after serving under Trump for more
than a year, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a
statement.

"Michael is one of the smartest and most talented individuals I've ever worked with," Sanders said. "He will be greatly missed."

Trump telephoned Anton on Sunday to thank him for his
service, a White House official said. The White House did not offer a reason for Anton's departure or say exactly when he would leave. The departure is the latest in a string of staff changes in the administration.

Anton told Politico he planned to join Hillsdale College's
Kirby Center in Washington as a writer and lecturer. He did
not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Anton published a widely read essay in conservative circles before the 2016 election under a pseudonym that compared the presidential race to the doomed September 11, 2001, flight that crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers charged the cockpit.

"2016 is the Flight 93 election: charge the cockpit or you
die," he wrote. "To compound the metaphor: a Hillary Clinton presidency is Russian Roulette with a semi-auto. With Trump, at least you can spin the cylinder and take your chances."

Last month, Trump said he was replacing HR McMaster as
national security adviser with John Bolton, a hawk who has
advocated using military force against North Korea and Iran.

A week earlier, Trump fired Rex Tillerson as secretary of state
and nominated Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo
to replace him. Bolton begins work on Monday.

McMaster replaced Michael Flynn, who resigned soon after Trump took office following disclosures he had discussed US sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office. Flynn pleaded guilty in December to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia.