--- title: Donald Trump Picks HR McMaster as National Security Adviser description: President Donald Trump has named Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his National Security Adviser, ending a week of upheaval canonical: https://time.com/4676455/donald-trump-h-r-mcmaster-national-security-adviser/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-20T20:32:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:17:39.500Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Names Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as New National Security Adviser og:description: A respected and experienced general og:url: https://time.com/4676455/donald-trump-h-r-mcmaster-national-security-adviser/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff7e29820930a39e/6988bb10a988ca05a36bb122/lt-gen-h-r-mcmaster.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Donald Trump,H.R. McMaster og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Names Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as New National Security Adviser twitter:description: A respected and experienced general twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff7e29820930a39e/6988bb10a988ca05a36bb122/lt-gen-h-r-mcmaster.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:11 video:published: 2017-02-20 section: politics topics: national security adviser appointment, presidential appointments, foreign policy decision-making, military leadership, White House staffing, national security team genre: news, announcement tones: formal, appreciative, confident emotions: pride (medium), gratitude (medium), confidence (medium) sentiment: positive audience: political news followers, foreign policy observers, military community, general news audiences people: Donald Trump, H.R. McMaster, Keith Kellogg organizations: White House, U.S. Military transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # President Trump Names Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as New National Security Adviser > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=05b856f5-7031-4396-8da1-5d3abb1969c5&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Names Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as New National Security Adviser [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Names Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as New National Security Adviser](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Sto4dYbp.m3u8) (1:11)  _Published 2017-02-20. President Donald Trump has named Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his National Security Adviser, ending a week of upheaval at the highest tier of the nation's foreign policy decision-making apparatus._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Trump announces that Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster will become National Security Adviser, describing him as talented and experienced and highly respected in the military. He says General Keith Kellogg will work alongside McMaster and serve as Chief of Staff. McMaster briefly thanks the president and says he looks forward to joining the national security team. ## Key points - Trump says the administration worked all weekend to finalize the appointment of Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as National Security Adviser. (00:05) - Trump describes McMaster as a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience who is highly respected by everybody in the military. (00:18) - Trump says he watched and read a lot over the last two days before making the selection. (00:22) - Trump says McMaster has known General Keith Kellogg for a long time and that the two will work together. (00:31) - Trump states that Keith Kellogg is going to be Chief of Staff and calls the combination something very, very special. (00:43) - McMaster says it is a privilege to continue serving the nation and thanks the president for the opportunity. (00:50) - McMaster says he looks forward to joining the national security team and doing everything he can to advance and protect the interests of the American people. (00:59) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:43] Trump announces McMaster as National Security Adviser. Trump announces Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as National Security Adviser and praises his talent and military respect. - [00:43 to 01:11] Kellogg role and McMaster's acceptance. Trump describes Keith Kellogg's role as Chief of Staff, and McMaster thanks the president and pledges service. ## Key quotes - [00:18] Donald Trump: "He is highly respected by everybody in the Military, and we're very honored to have him." - [00:43] Donald Trump: "And I think that combination is something very, very special." - [00:50] H.R. McMaster: "I would just like to say what a privilege it is to be able to continue serving our nation" - [00:59] H.R. McMaster: "I look forward to joining the national security team and doing everything that I can to advance and protect the interests of the American people." ## Questions this video answers - Who has President Trump named as National Security Adviser? [00:05] - What qualities does Trump attribute to H.R. McMaster? [00:18] - What role will Keith Kellogg take on? [00:43] - How does McMaster describe his reaction to the appointment? [00:50] - What does McMaster say he intends to do in the role? [00:59] by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Feb 20, 2017 8:32 PM UTC President Donald Trump has named Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his National Security Adviser, ending a week of upheaval at the highest tier of the nation's foreign policy decision-making apparatus. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Feb 20, 2017 8:32 PM UTC President Donald Trump has named Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his [National Security Adviser](http://time.com/4670486/michael-flynn-resignation-record/), ending a week of upheaval at the highest tier of the nation’s foreign policy decision-making apparatus. Trump called McMaster “a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience” Monday as he introduced his selection to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, where he has spent the holiday weekend interviewing candidates for the post.”I watched and read a lot over the last two days,” Trump said. “He is highly respected by everyone in the military and we’re very honored to have him.” A career army officer, McMaster replaces [Mike Flynn](http://time.com/4672144/george-logan-michael-flynn/), who was [asked to resign by Trump](http://time.com/4670930/white-house-president-trump-asked-for-flynns-resignation/) last Monday amid revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence on the nature of his contacts with the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Trump’s first choice for the job, Robert Harward, turned down the position last week for family and financial considerations, and because of Trump’s initial unwillingness to give Flynn’s replacement total control over staffing decisions on the NSC. Retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg, who served as interim National Security Adviser for the week, will return to his post as chief of staff and executive secretary of the National Security Council, the White House said. McMaster, one of the military’s top strategic minds, most recently served as Director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center in Virginia, which is tasked with preparing for future threats. As a younger officer, McMaster attained cult-like status within the military after the publication of his 1997 book “Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam.” The book examined the failure of military leaders to challenge civilian policymakers’ about the direction of the war. McMaster was named to TIME’s list of the [100 most influential people](http://time.com/collection-post/70886/herbert-raymond-mcmaster-2014-time-100/) in 2014 shortly after his promotion to lead the Army’s “futures” center, in which he was lauded as perhaps “the 21st century Army’s pre-eminent warrior-thinker.” He earned a Silver Star for his service in the first Gulf War, when the nine tanks under his command destroyed 80 Iraqi tanks. McMaster commanded the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment during the Iraq War to great acclaim, with his forces providing some of the earliest gains against the Iraqi insurgency. Speaking briefly to reporters, McMaster thanks Trump for the opportunity to serve. “I’m grateful to you for that opportunity,” he told Trump, “and I look forward to joining the national security team and doing everything that I can to advance and protect the interests of the American people.” ## Transcript [00:00] We're [00:02] ready. [00:05] So I just wanted to announce we've been working all [00:08] weekend very diligently very hard, that Ltn. Gen. H. [00:13] R. McMaster will become the National Security [00:18] Adviser. He's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous [00:22] experience. I watched and read a lot over the last two [00:26] days. He is highly respected by everybody in the Military, [00:31] and we're very honored to have him. He also has known [00:35] for a long time, General Keith Kellogg. [ UNKNOWN ] [00:40] I've also got to know and he is a terrific man. And they're [00:43] going to be working together. And Keith is going to be [00:47] Chief of Staff. And I think that combination is something [00:50] very, very special. Mr. President thank you very much. I [00:53] would just like to say what a privilege it is to be able to [00:56] continue serving our nation and I'm grateful to you for that [00:59] opportunity. I look forward to joining the national security [01:02] team and doing everything that I can to advance and [01:04] protect the interests of the American people. Thank you [01:07] very much sir! Youre gonna do a great job. Thank you sir! ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4676455/donald-trump-h-r-mcmaster-national-security-adviser/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4676455/donald-trump-h-r-mcmaster-national-security-adviser/"},"headline":"President Trump Names Lt. Gen. H.R. 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