Once-Powerful NSC Is Sidelined by Trump as Rubio Takes the Helm

Marco Rubio during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 6.Photographer: Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg
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Donald Trump is taking his time naming a permanent replacement for his National Security Adviser. But he’s already sent a clear message: the job once held by figures like Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski won’t matter in his administration nearly as much.

Even before he removed Mike Waltz from the post on May 1, the president had cut the staff and influence of the National Security Council, relying instead on his own instincts and a close cadre of loyalists like New York real estate mogul Steve Witkoff for diplomatic missions and key decisions.