background checks. laura: we go back to washington now. incoming national security advisor john bolton is expected to make major staff changes at the national security council. the former u.s. ambassador to the united nations is set to officially replace general h.r. mcmaster next month. kevin cork is live in west palm beach, florida where the president is spending the weekend. how soon do we expect ambassador bolton to join the president s team? reporter: you made a good point, sometime next month. it s safe to say this is a an interesting position. the transition for this job is a delicate one. we talked about this previously. it s very high level. but i would also add that given the ambassador s experience on the job, certainly he should be able to move into the position without issue, although i should also point out we expect some additional attrition over there at the team at the nsc in the coming days, so be sure to keep an eye out for that. now, as for h.r. mcmaster, his
potentially mcmaster, we ll see, and many of the other shuffles that have happened indicate the president is trying to clam down on who is around him. and i think that s very transparent and in some ways it s the same message with mccabe. he is sending a message to the investigators. he will fight back. and he will not sit by as this continues. and then, john what does it say that it appears as though the president is actually enjoying this, you know, reportedly he had been enjoying all the attention from the staff changes, the reports of staff changes. this week, the firings, et cetera. and that the president actually tweeted out that he seems happy about how the firing transpired in saying, you know, this is essentially a celebration. well, he should be happy about mccabe going. i mean, he s been complaining about mccabe pretty much and his bias from the get-go. to see the attorney general took
the moment trump is basically acting as hi own secretary of state and trade rep his own communications director and office manager and legal counsel and his own political strategist and as we ve seen, sometimes his impulses could be his own worst enemy. joining by kelly o donnell at the white house. kelly, i hate to put you on the spot here, but there is some reports of an off the record meeting all of you had with john kelly that are now surfaces out there in his attempt to try to tamp down the feeding frenzy about staff changes. reporter: well, putting the off the record aside, i think from being in the west wing today and talking with a number of different officials, there are some things that you can perceive. there is what i could call a deflated attitude. there is a sense of perhaps the physical weight of all of the turmoil we ve been reporting on. working in a white house is tough. this feels like it carries an extra burden. in addition to that, i spoke with a senior official
h.r. mcmaster. john bolton. also said to be on his way out v.a. secretary david shulkin, energy secretary rick perry considered a top contend tore replace him. ray washburn who oversees the private investment could replace you will perry at energy. and replace mcmulvaney. we are told this is likely to be months down the road. the president will make the ultimate decision about all staff changes. he said the other day he is making these on his own. of course, awful this follows tuesday s announcement of the rex-it as i call it rex tillerson s exit. mike pompeo nominated to take that post. the president wants him in that job. steve? look, i think this is all good. some of the people who are on their way out, they are on their way out not because as some are argued they don t sort of see perfectly eye to eye with the president. they are on their way out because they are useless and
about staff changes. i don t have any personal announcements but we are looking for how we can better the system, whether it s through policy changes are personnel changes. not just at the top level but across the board. we ve made a number of changes within the personnel had made sure we are looking at how we can best serve our nation s veterans. the president saying such talk about changes is a full story. i am told by some people that he is getting tired, kimberly, of these daily stories of staff departures and the chaos. better to rip the bandage off all at once, get it out of the way. kimberly: thank you so much. dana, lots of developments. we ve been hearing the steady stream of information about people who might be exiting the white house. different people, to be the president didn t fill the relationship was gelling. it s like a broadway play at this point. the cast of characters that keeps developing in terms of who