Story highlights
It was not immediately clear if Flynn accepted
Flynn was a top adviser and high-profile surrogate to Trump during his campaign
(CNN) —
President-elect Donald Trump announced he will tap Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn for the role of national security advisor, the transition announced Friday.
The announcement Friday said that Flynn was among three high profile national security positions – including Mike Pompeo for CIA director and Jeff Sessions for attorney general – that had been offered and accepted.
Flynn, 57, was a top adviser and high-profile surrogate to Trump during his campaign, introducing the President-elect at rallies and serving as a top cheerleader on his hyper-active Twitter feed.
“General Flynn is one of the country’s foremost experts on military and intelligence matters and he will be an invaluable asset to me and my administration,” Trump said in a statement.
His appointment won’t require Senate confirmation, which is potentially helpful for Trump, as Flynn has a long history of controversial remarks and was fired as President Barack Obama’s director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014.
Flynn wrote in his 2016 book, “The Field of Fight,” that he was booted from Obama’s administration by “censors” who were unhappy he’d told a congressional committee “that we were not as safe as we had been a few years back.”
However, US officials said Flynn was pushed out because of his contentious management style.
Flynn’s Twitter feed – regularly updated with pro-Trump comments – is another source of potential scrutiny. Flynn apologized in July after retweeting a message that bashed Jewish people.
The retweet came after Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said on CNN that Russia was to blame for hacks of the Democratic National Committee.
“The corrupt Democratic machine will do and say anything to get #NeverHillary into power. This is a new low,” Flynn tweeted. With it, he shared a link to a tweet by a user who had written, “>Cnn implicated. ‘The USSR is to blame!’ … Not anymore, Jews. Not anymore.”
Flynn later apologized, saying he’d only meant to retweet Mook’s remarks.
01:01 - Source: CNN Business
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First created in the early days of the Cold War, the job of national security advisor is seen as critical to implementing a president’s worldview on the various departments and agencies involved in national security. Famous national security advisers who made a major impact on American foreign policy have included Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft. Susan Rice is the current national security advisor.
Flynn enjoys tremendous access and credibility with Trump, especially because he’s had several tours of duty on the battlefield.
“What makes Gen. Flynn different from so many others that we’ve heard about on Donald Trump’s transition team is he is the one with the real experience fighting on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Peter Bergen, CNN’s national security analyst.
“Certainly, he would be a very plausible candidate for national security advisor, which is arguably the most important national security position in the government,” Bergen added.
But the question may be whether his management style rubs people the wrong way.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
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exclusive photo by nigel parry for CNN
President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
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Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
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Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
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Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
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Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
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NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City.
