K.T. McFarland, a former Fox News analyst brought in as the No. 2 at the National Security Council by the fired national security adviser Michael Flynn, has been offered the post of US ambassador to Singapore, sources familiar with the situation tell CNN.
McFarland is also being considered for a senior role at the State Department, according to a source familiar with her plans, but it is unclear whether any concrete offer from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been made. One source close to McFarland says she could also opt to remain at the National Security Council.
McFarland’s future at the NSC has been uncertain since Flynn resigned in February amid a controversy over his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, during the transition.
White House officials made clear after Flynn’s ouster that McFarland had not been asked to step down. Her hold on the deputy spot was put into question after Trump eventually selected H.R. McMaster as Flynn’s replacement.
A source granted anonymity to speak freely about the situation says that McFarland preferred to stay on in some capacity in government in Washington, such as a possible role at State.
National security experts speculated earlier this month that her hold at the NSC grew looser when Dina Powell, a former senior administration official in George W. Bush’s State Department who is currently a top adviser to Ivanka Trump, was named deputy national security adviser for strategy earlier this month. A senior administration official told CNN at the time that McFarland planned to remain with the NSC and work closely with Powell.
McFarland is still mulling the offer of an ambassadorship, which was made weeks ago, the source said. The source added that McFarland would go to State if she were offered a high-level job, but is happy to go to Singapore if no offer comes through.
A National Security Council spokesperson and McFarland declined to comment for the story.
