Deputy national security adviser to leave White House amid Bolton reshuffle

Ricky Waddell, the No. 2 official on the National Security Council (NSC), plans to leave his post as new national security adviser John Bolton seeks to form his own team. 

“Dr. Rick Waddell plans to step down from his position at the White House,” said White House spokesperson Lindsay Walters. “Dr. Waddell is highly respected and very well liked within the White House and the United States Army. We thank him for his continued service.”

Walters said Waddell “will stay on board for the immediate future” to help with the transition to his successor.  

Waddell is the fourth national security aide to leave or be ousted since Bolton started in his new role on Monday.

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The Army Reserve general was hired last May by Bolton’s predecessor, H.R. McMaster, to run operations at the NSC. He took over for K.T. McFarland, the deputy to Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. 

Waddell’s departure is the latest sign Bolton is seeking to clean house at the NSC and bring in his own people. 

It comes one day after deputy national security adviser Nadia Schadlow, who authored Trump’s national security strategy, submitted her resignation. 

Homeland security adviser Tom Bossert and NSC spokesman Michael Anton are the other two officials who are leaving the White House due to Bolton. 

More changes are expected in the coming days and weeks.

Updated at 11:49 a.m.