The Republican pollster who had planned to split time advising both Vice President Mike Pence and the United Nations ambassador, Nikki Haley, on national security issues withdrew from the dual role on Sunday night, a White House official said.
Jon Lerner, a veteran strategist, has no national security background. His decision came two days after President Donald Trump learned of the unusual time-sharing plan.
"Jon informed the vice president that he was withdrawing from coming on board as national security adviser, and the vice president accepted his decision," said Alyssa Farah, the press secretary for Pence. "Vice President Pence holds Jon Lerner in the highest regard and expressed his deep gratitude for Jon's willingness to consider joining our team."
Lerner will continue to advise Haley.
Three administration officials said Trump was upset about the plan to advise Pence for two main reasons: Lerner's background with the super PAC that supported Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida in the Republican presidential primaries, and his work advising the anti-tax group Club for Growth, which opposed Trump during the campaign. At least one official suggested to the president that Lerner may have been connected to opposition research efforts against him.
Lerner has been a close adviser to Haley since her successful 2010 run for governor in South Carolina. When Haley was selected for the U.N. role, she insisted that Lerner join her as her deputy. Lerner is also close with Nick Ayers, Pence's chief of staff.
When The Washington Post reported on Lerner's dual role Thursday night, several West Wing officials said that few officials had been properly consulted, and that no one had explained Lerner's history to the president, according to the people familiar with what took place.
Joe Hagin, a deputy chief of staff in the White House, told colleagues that the simultaneous roles might not even be permissible.
Several top advisers -- Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton; the nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo; and the White House chief of staff, John Kelly -- were told of the selection, officials said. But none of them knew the full context.
Haley's central role in the deliberations over a military strike on Syria in the past few days exacerbated frustrations among some.
Trump made clear to advisers that he did not want to see Lerner with a seat at the White House, so the Pence team decided it was not worth pursuing, one adviser to the vice president said.
A Section on 04/17/2018