After the premature resignation of Michael Flynn over his alleged conversations with the Russian ambassador, the Trump administration has made it clear it will not tolerate any dissent within the ranks. Case in point: Craig Deare, who was recently appointed the U.S. National Security Council’s senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, was removed from the agency days after criticizing President Trump and senior White House officials, including son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump at a private event hosted by a Washington think tank, Politico reported.
What makes the Deare resignation notable is that he is not a holdover from the Obama administration, but came to the NSC after Trump's inauguration from National Defense University, where he had served as the dean of administration and was selected for the role by Michael Flynn, who resigned as Trump’s national security adviser on Feb.
13, resulting a state of "controlled chaos" among Trump's top security advisors, and leading in a scramble to find a replacement.
Craig Deare
According to Politico, at a private, off-the-record roundtable hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center for a group of about two dozen scholars earlier in the week, Deare harshly criticized the president and his chief strategist Steve Bannon and railed against the dysfunction paralyzing the Trump White House, according to a source familiar with the situation.
"He complained in particular that senior national security aides do not have access to the president - and gave a detailed and embarrassing readout of Trump's call with Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto." Some have speculated that he may have been the source of the leaked conversation between Trump and the Mexican president which led to a media furore several weeks ago.
According to Bloomberg, a second official familiar with the situation said Deare was released from his NSC position but not removed from the U.S. government. He was recruited to the security council, part of the president’s executive office, from the National Defense University and will return to his post there, the official said.
Deare’s biography shows he’s been on the faculty of the professional military university since 2001. He joined the university’s College of International Security Affairs in 2010 and most recently served as dean of administration.
