Michael Anton, who served in the first Trump administration as its national security spokesman, reportedly pulled himself out of contention for a job at the National Security Council in the second administration because he did not want to work with returning senior Trump administration official Sebastian Gorka.
A Washington Post reporter posted on X:
New: Michael Anton was a leading candidate to become deputy national security adviser but pulled himself out of contention when he was told he would have to work with Sebastian Gorka at the NSC, per sources
A source familiar with the transition, however, confirmed to Breitbart News that it was true that Anton backed out of working in the NSC when told that Gorka — who is close to President-Elect Donald Trump — was returning.
Trump announced Friday that Gorka would return to the White House as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism.
The Post reported that Anton was “previously a leading candidate” to become deputy national security adviser.
Gorka told the Post, “I don’t comment to the fake failing news.”
While Anton claimed that Gorka had yelled at him in a Fox News green room, Anton himself had a reputation for screaming at people, including this reporter over a story that would reflect negatively on then-Trump National Security Adviser and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster.
Anton had gained recognition for writing one essay under a pseudonym that was seen as the “intellectual case” for Trump’s election back in 2016. That essay landed him a job in the first Trump administration from February 2017 to April 2018. He resigned after McMaster was fired.
Trump has been staffing his White House with advisers he personally trusts, after acknowledging that he made some staffing mistakes during his first administration, with staffers and aides who undermined him and his agenda.
The Post reporter claimed Anton was “expected to be in contention for other administration jobs.”
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