(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump has narrowed the search for his next national security adviser to replace John Bolton, who left the White House abruptly last week.
Top candidates include Ricky Waddell, a former national security official in the Trump administration, and Robert C. O'Brien, a presidential envoy for hostage affairs, according to people familiar with the matter.
Trump is also considering Keith Kellogg, a national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence. Additionally, Trump dined on Saturday with Richard Grenell, the current U.S. ambassador to Germany, who has been discussing a different role on the Trump team.
Trump ousted Bolton last week, saying he “strongly” disagreed with many of his positions. Bolton -- known for his hard-line approach to U.S. adversaries, including Iran, North Korea and Venezuela -- had also clashed repeatedly with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.
The president is giving Pompeo a significant voice in choosing who will replace Bolton, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Pompeo has backed O'Brien and Waddell.
To contact the reporters on this story: Nick Wadhams in Washington at nwadhams@bloomberg.net;Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, Larry Liebert
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