page_title: John Bolton
section_title: Tenure
hierarchical_section_title: John Bolton / National Security Advisor (2018–2019) / Tenure
caption_attribution_description: President Donald J. Trump, joined by National Security Advisor John Bolton, speaks on the phone with Iraq Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi Wednesday, December 26, 2018, during his visit to Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
context_page_description: John Robert Bolton is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant and political commentator who served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006 and as the 27th United States National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019.
  Bolton served as a United States Assistant Attorney General for President Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1989. He served in the State Department as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1989 to 1993 and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs from 2001 to 2005. He was an advocate of the Iraq War as a Director of the Project for the New American Century, which favored going to war with Iraq.
  He was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations from August 2005 to December 2006, as a recess appointee by President George W. Bush. He stepped down at the end of his recess appointment in December 2006 because he was unlikely to win confirmation from the Senate, of which the Democratic Party had gained control at the time. Bolton later served as the National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump from April 2018 to September 2019.
context_section_description: In February 2017 President Trump interviewed Bolton and three others to determine who would fill the position of National Security Advisor vacated by Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn. The position ultimately went to H. R. McMaster. Trump "made a point on Monday of praising Mr. Bolton and saying that he would find a position for him in his administration eventually." Bolton was seen at the White House on the evening of March 6, 2018, presumably to be interviewed as a candidate for national security adviser.
  The New York Times reported on March 22, 2018, that John Bolton would replace National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster, which was confirmed by Trump in a tweet later that day. Bolton began his position as National Security Advisor on April 9, 2018. The New York Times wrote that the rise of Bolton and Mike Pompeo, coupled with the departure of Rex Tillerson and General McMaster, meant Trump's foreign policy team was now "the most radically aggressive foreign policy team around the American president in modern memory", and compared it to the foreign policy team surrounding George W. Bush, notably with Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.
  On April 10, 2018, Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert resigned at Bolton's request, and Bolton said he was considering a merger of the NSC with the Homeland Security Council. During his first week in office Bolton requested and obtained the resignations of multiple National Security Council (NSC) employees including NSC spokesman Michael Anton (April 8), deputy national security adviser Nadia Schadlow (April 10), and deputy national security adviser Ricky L. Waddell (April 12). CNN reported in September 2018 that Bolton had significantly shrunk the number of NSC personnel, cutting it to under 300.
  In April 2018, Bolton pressed President Trump to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal, which Trump did a month later.
  The Huffington Post reported that on May 8, 2018, Bolton removed Timothy Ziemer and dissolved his Global Health Security team formerly on the NSC leaving the administration's high level preparation for and ability to respond to pandemics, infectious disease, and other biological threats unclear. The choice to remove and not replace Ziemer in the midst of an emerging Ebola outbreak in The Democratic Republic of Congo was criticized in several news outlets.
  On September 10, 2018, in his first major address as National Security Advisor, Bolton criticized the International Criminal Court, saying it lacks checks and balances, exercises "jurisdiction over crimes that have disputed and ambiguous definitions," and has failed to "deter and punish atrocity crimes." Calling the ICC a threat to "American sovereignty and U.S. national security," Bolton said it is "superfluous," given that "domestic judicial systems already hold American citizens to the highest legal and ethical standards." He added that the U.S. would do everything "to protect our citizens" should the ICC attempt to prosecute U.S. servicemen over alleged detainee abuse in Afghanistan, and it would bar ICC judges and prosecutors from entering the U.S. and sanction their funds. He also criticized Palestinian efforts to bring Israel before the ICC over allegations of human rights abuses in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
  In 2018, Bolton requested that the Pentagon provide the White House with options for military strikes against Iran. According to the New York Times, Bolton "intensified the administration's policy of isolating and pressuring Iran—reflecting an animus against Iran's leaders that dates back to his days as an official in the George W. Bush administration. As a private citizen, he later called for military strikes on Iran, as well as regime change."
  As National Security Advisor, Bolton eliminated the kinds of internal policy debates that his predecessor H. R. McMaster had in place. The New York Times writes that this change in practices contributed to Trump's sudden decision to withdraw the United States from Syria in January 2019.
  As National Security Advisor, Bolton advanced policies skeptical and hostile toward internat
caption: December 26, 2018: Bolton and President Trump on the phone with Iraq Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi during visit to U.S. troops
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