McMaster appoints new intel head on security council: reports

President Trump’s national security adviser H.R. McMaster has filled a position on the National Security Council that oversees the intelligence community, Axios reported Friday.

McMaster has appointed Mike Barry to replace Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who was an appointee of Trump’s first national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Cohen-Watnick’s exit in August was reportedly part of an effort by McMaster to purge Flynn’s appointees on the council.

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Barry, who previously served in the Air Force, will be charged with the responsibility of coordinating the administration’s objectives with the intelligence community, according to Axios, which reported that CIA Director Mike Pompeo recommended Barry to McMaster.

A former intelligence official told Politico on Friday that he knows “for a fact” that Barry had served in the CIA. The agency declined to comment on his appointment.