Who is John Bolton, the new national security adviser?

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was added to the growing list of former White House officials Thursday when President Trump announced he was replacing McMaster with former ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton.

Last month, Trump took issue with McMaster’s characterization of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election after the national security adviser told the Munich Security Conference that interference was beyond dispute. He’s described the Iran nuclear deal as President Obama’s Waterloo, offering this advice to President Trump earlier this year, again, via Fox News.

Bolton a veteran of the George W Bush administration will now have a central role in crafting U.S. foreign policy, refereeing debates between America’s spooks, soldiers and diplomats.

Larry Kudlow, the economic analyst and CNBC contributor who was recently named as a replacement for former National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, also appealed to Trump because of his appearances on cable news. He was involved in the U.S.’s decision to pull out of the International Criminal Court, as well as building the case for invading Iraq.

Bolton has urged Trump to scrap the 2015 Iran nuclear deal forged under then-President Barack Obama, an agreement Trump has railed against, and said on Fox News in January that “our goal should be regime change in Iran“. Mr. Bolton and Mike Pompeo, newly nominated as secretary of state, have better ties to Mr. Trump than their predecessors. “This hasn’t sunk in”, he said.

Bolton is a hawk’s hawk who has repeatedly said he believes the United States has the right to take the first shot to handle potential threats. “I mean, I would rather you be stupid and not very effective”. He said US ally South Korea, which restarted talks with North Korea this year, should be cautious before agreeing to anything with Pyongyang.

Top Israeli officials lauded praise on the appointment of Bolton, calling him a “stalwart friend of Israel”. Mr. Navarro, known for his strident positions on China trade championed the punitive measures directed by Mr. Trump on Thursday, hours before the announcement on Mr. McMaster’s exit.

And The Diplomat noted that the timing is odd, coming as it does two weeks after Trump accepted an invitation from Kim Jon-un for a historic US-North Korea summit.

Some may claim that this is yet another chaotic staff change in a White House where all staff is eventually discarded, and the only opinion that matters is that of Trump. In his first year in office, Trump surrounded himself with foreign policy aides whose views spanned a wide spectrum.

Bolton, probably the most divisive foreign policy expert ever to serve as United Nations ambassador, has been a force in Republican foreign policy circles for decades. His hiring does not require U.S. Senate confirmation. The NSA participates in meetings of the National Security Council (NSC) and usually chairs meetings of the Principals Committee of the NSC with the secretary of state and secretary of defense, which are meetings not attended by the president.

Bolton and Bush-era Vice President Dick Cheney are known as neoconservatives who advocate the unilateral pursuit of American interests overseas, sometimes through force.

Trump’s definition of “America First” has always been somewhat nebulous, although he’s stressed the importance of USA sovereignty, limited overseas intervention and burden-sharing among allies so that Washington doesn’t disproportionately foot the bill.

The same techniques were also the focus of its work for Bolton’s super PAC.

In August, it was reported that, amid a broader shakeup, Trump was considering giving McMaster command of forces in Afghanistan, allowing him to earn a fourth star.