Senate Will Weigh In on H. R. McMaster’s Appointment

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/senate-will-weigh-in-on-h-r-mcmasters-appointment.html

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WASHINGTON — The Senate does not usually get a chance to vote on who serves as the president’s national security adviser, but it will have a rare opportunity to weigh in next week when it considers the appointment of Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster.

Because General McMaster is still on active duty, and the Senate votes on any major change in assignment for general officers, it will take up the matter on Tuesday. The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a closed-door executive session, at which General McMaster will appear, before the panel votes on his appointment and sends it to the Senate floor.

Such a procedure was not necessary for former officers who have served as national security advisers, including Michael T. Flynn, a retired three-star general who held the job for 24 days before President Trump forced his resignation over a call with Russia’s ambassador. The last time an active-duty officer served as national security adviser was during Ronald Reagan’s second term, when Colin L. Powell, then a three-star general, ran the National Security Council.

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, crafted the process for General McMaster to mirror how the Senate handled Mr. Powell’s appointment, and negotiated it with the committee’s Democrats. General McMaster has earned bipartisan praise. But by holding the hearing behind closed doors, the committee may head off a public grilling about Mr. Trump’s foreign policy choices.