Mitt Romney ‘Very Unhappy’ with John Bolton’s Firing, Suggests ‘John Bolton’ as Replacement

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) expressed disappointment over the news of National Security Advisor John Bolton’s firing, calling the outgoing senior White House official “brilliant” and suggested his reinstatement.

“I’m very, very unhappy to hear that he is leaving. It’s a huge loss for the administration and for the nation,” Romney told reporters on Tuesday. “John Bolton is a brilliant man with decades of experience in foreign policy. His point of view was not always the same everybody else in the room. That’s why you wanted him there.

“The fact that he was a contrarian from time to time was an asset, not a liability,” the Utah Republican added.

Asked who he believes should replace Bolton, Romney replied: “John Bolton.”

Earlier Tuesday, President Trump announced that he had fired Bolton and plans to name a successor next week.

The president announced the move in a tweet.

“I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,” he wrote. “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.

“I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new national security adviser next week.”

Bolton confirmed his departure in a tweet.

“I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow.'”

President Trump hasn’t elaborated on what led to Bolton’s dismissal, but internal strife over a canceled plan to host Taliban negotiators at Camp David may have been a factor, CNN reported.

The administration planned a secret peace meeting among U.S., Taliban and Afghanistan leaders last weekend, but canceled on the same day a suicide bomber attacked Kabul.

The White House press office said on Tuesday that Bolton would appear with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at a briefing.

Since taking office more than two years ago, Trump has had three national security advisers — Bolton, Michael Flynn, H.R. McMaster. Bolton had been in the job since April 2018.

Bolton’s championed hawkish foreign policy views dating back to the Reagan administration and became a household name over his vociferous support for the Iraq War as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under George W. Bush.

Since joining the administration in the spring of last year, Bolton has espoused skepticism about the president’s whirlwind rapprochement with North Korea and has advocated against President Trump’s decision last year to pull U.S. troops out of Syria. He masterminded a quiet campaign inside the administration and with allies abroad to persuade President Trump to keep U.S. forces in Syria to counter the remnants of the Islamic State and Iranian influence in the region.

Bolton’s ouster was met with praise from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the libertarian-leaning lawmaker who has long opposed foreign interventions championed by the fired White House official. Paul reacted to Bolton’s firing in a tweet, writing: “I commend @realDonaldTrump for this necessary action. The President has great instincts on foreign policy and ending our endless wars. He should be served by those who share those views.”

The Associated Press and UPI contributed to this report.