mcmaster. i can't imagine general mcmaster taking the job without first establishing ground rules with the people in the west wing by saying, look, i get to pick my staff, i'm not going to take orders and instructions from the two stevens or anybody else. i'll give you my best evaluation after taking into account the input from all the executive branches, all the executive departments. and i'm going to tell you exactly what i think. i'm not going to tell you what you want to hear. i mean, he's that kind of personality. and it's difficult to envision somebody with that kind of personality and experience being in an environment in which things are very tightly controlled from 1600 pennsylvania avenue, jacob. >> so, colonel jacobs, do you think that mcmaster in this situation was able to extract some exceptions from the trump administration with regard to staffing? we do know general petraeus as well as robert harward were said to have not been picked for that position because of issues regarding

mcmaster. >> mike barnicle has something to say here. three words i tweeted out yesterday. >> thank you, jesus. >> the president introducing him in florida after -- >> literally tweeted that. >> it's unanimous. >> thank you, jesus dot dot dot. i'm not being dramatic here. thank you, jesus. >> ability, intellect, everything you need. >> oh, my god. >> good morning, everyone. >> don't look now, willie, but with all the chaos that's been going on the past month, we actually have a good, really topnotch national security team top to bottom. if not for flynn, mattis and tillerson. >> tillerson having trouble -- >> pompeo. >> if we can find tillerson. >> he's getting the short end of the stick. we'll talk about that. >> the question, you have all these strong, respected guys. the question is, will their voices be heard above donald trump's voice. that's still the question out there. >> the answer is so yes. i've never seen -- especially since you have so many alpha males, leaders, generals. these are

mcmaster. barbara star has more. barbara? >> don, in the end, the president picked an active duty, serving military officer who really did not have the option of saying no to the commander in chief. >> he's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. i watched and read a lot over the last two days. he is highly respected by everybody in the military. >> army lieutenant general is a veteran of iraq and afghanistan, with years of battlefield experience. he is deeply involved in serving in the highest levels of the military. >> what a plifl edge it is to continue serving our nation. i look forward to advance and protect the interest of the american people. thank you very much. >> now he wades into white house politics and a national security council in turmoil since the firing of michael flynn. for not telling mike pence the truth about his contacts with russia. people who know him say, don't expect him to change. >> if general mcmaster not only understands his role, but accepts his role as the lead to the national sec

you know, mcmaster. the new national security adviser getting rave reviews from all sides of the aisle. experts and military and john mccain saying that this is a great decision and trump deserves credit. have you heard any push back? >> no. you can add my voice to the chor chorus. part is the comparison to general flynn who is widely panned and unsuited to that position. no doubt general mcmaster will be called on to make difficult decisions. not everyone will agree with all of them. he is a professional and bright and balanced and seemingly sane guy. >> what do you think of the dynamic of having someone in the white house who is an independent thinker and outspoken versus someone like craig deare who was reassigned a day ago. the white house saying if you don't agree with president trump, you don't belong in the white house. >> i think it is undoudoubtful. if you are steve bannon, you have strong opinions. maybe you don't want to hear all of the thoughts. that is the dynamic to watch. >> i want to ask

mcmaster. scott? >> reporter: on russia. it is on the subject general mcmasters is hawkish. and i am curious what is the difference in tone or tenure or strategy to expect working together. >> press secretary spicer: as i mentioned a couple of times, there is widespread praise for general mcmaster in his understanding of national security and foreign matter and a great asat the time to the president's security team. the president is a decider whether it is russia or go other matter. if he can make a deal with russia, i think he will do it. if he can't he won't. he will try and his success as a businessman and negotiator is seen as a positive sign. he understands if he can find common ground on defeating ice six and areas of economic interest, that's where we will work with russia. if he can get a deal he will. and he will try and where others have failed, he will make sure he will do everything possible if it is into the interest of the united states we will have a deal. >> reporter: there was

what about p general mcmaster's team? there are theories on how he will construct that and how will his team come together in the next several wye weeks. >> the president gave him full authority to build out the team. this is a guy who is used to leading. he has general kellogg there and bring him up to speed on the things going on. you know, i think the president gave him full authority and trust in him to build out the best team he needs. >> jenna: there is a lot of emphasis by the president and others on unauthorized leak and on valuable national security information. right now, the source of the leaks is unknown. is the white house closer to finding out who is behind the leaks? >> i don't know if there is a pinpointed person that we have identified, but i know the president and the white house takes seriously. there is nothing greater and more important for this white house than national security and that's why the president made effort and emphasis on day one in taking office in his policy and also the way the white

mcmaster mcmaster grew up in roxborough section of the city, mcmaster says he'll remain on active duty while serving at the presidential advisor. >> now, we send it right over to katie for a look at today's forecast. >> jim, what looks like real nice day, starting off on chillier note for sure, we dropped in a lot of locations cents about 10 degrees, give or take, from this same time yesterday. now, see more clouds are beginning to bill owe in here. that's sign of the latest warmfront lifting in. but with that, warmfront it, will live up to its name, although i don't think we will see much in the way of wet weather perhaps stray shower or sprinkle at worse tonight into early tomorrow. this really just comes through lackluster, moisture content, makes up for that with the warm up that we experience, all the way up to 70s come thursday, so case of may there. and another storm comes along friday, and specially into saturday. >> meisha? >> katie, thank you. and we are still looking at this overturned tractor-trailer still out there. blue route, ramp to schuylkill westbound, starting to slo

mcmaster: thank you. i think the first way we think through it is we acknowledge the continuities in the nature of war. these are continuities that make wars resemble each other more than they resemble any other human activity. if you acknowledge what makes war different, which is that it is wage for political outcomes, it is the human drivers of conflicts and the interactive nature of war. it is a contest of wills. it helps you exist for simplistic analogies. it helps you understand continuities. but of course, the character of war is always evolving and changing. what we do is we really look at thiskey elements through as we look to the future of armed conflict. the first is threats, enemies, and adversaries in the future environment. this is to make a grounded projection into the near future to see emerging threats to national security. we are concerned with revisionist powers on the eurasian landmass, russia and china, who are engaged in a form of limited war with the objective of collapsing the iiso

mcmaster as his new national security adviser. mcmaster taking over the job after michael flynn was fired and another top contender turned the president down. for the first time vice-president paengs pence is acknowledging that michael flynn misled him. pence revealing his disappointment during a news conference with the head of nato. the vice-president in brussels trying to reassure allies of president trump's commitment to nato and europe. top officials in sweden are expressing anger and dismay with president trump for spreading inaccurate information. speaking in florida the president referenced, quote, what happened last night in sweden, the president says he was referring to a fox news report about immigration and crime in sweden. >>> also this hour, we're learning about the trump administration's plan to carry out the president's executive order. cnn attains a new guideline that could lead to a huge increase of undocumented immigrant order. i'll talk with a democratic on the senate foreign relations committee. senator chris

, mcmaster worked for petraeus. petraeus and mattis were very tight in terms of their operations both in the early stages of the war and later on in the war. they turned over commands to each other. i agree with what barbara said. this guy has to be a coordinator, a synchronizer, and a an agenda developer. just because he's a military guy doesn't mean he has to take orders from the commander in chief. i think that's a misunderstanding by the american people. a lot of military guys have arguments before the final decisions are made and some of those are real throw-downs. mcmaster will do that if he needs to but he will be respectful as harry truman said, telling the boss to go to hell and making him look forward to the trip. >> we will end it on that. more with our panel, much more to talk about. president trump's back at the white house. we look at the challenges ahead for him and later weigh in his first month in office. the claims versus achievements. also, the somewhat unusual role defense secretary mattis and vi

, mcmaster worked for petraeus. petraeus and mattis were very tight in terms of their operations both in the early stages of the war and later on in the war. they turned over commands to each other. i agree with what barbara said. this guy has to be a coordinator, a synchronizer, and an agenda developer. just because he's a military guy doesn't mean he has to take orders from the commander in chief. i think that's a misunderstanding by the american people. a lot of military guys have arguments before the final decisions are made and some of those are real throw-downs. mcmaster will do that if he needs to but he will be respectful as harry truman said, telling the boss to go to hell and making him look forward to the trip. >> we will end it on that. more with our panel, much more to talk about. president trump's back at the white house. we look at the challenges ahead for him and later weigh in his first month in office. the claims versus achievements. also, the somewhat unusual role defense secretary mattis and vice

mcmaster will become the national security adviser. he's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. >> reporter: a senior administration official tells nbc news the president chose lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster because he's both a warrior and a defense intellectual. at 54 years old, mcmaster is highly decorated, having served in both iraq wars and in afghanistan. also hailed for his military book "dereliction of duty" about officers who refused to tell president johnson at the time he was wrong about vietnam. now mcmaster is in a position of having to weigh if and when to speak out to the president and while some in foreign policy circles question his national security expertise, the announcement was largely received with bipartisan support. >> i don't know if h.r. ever sleeps at night. >> reporter: the former u.s. ambassador to iraq, ryan crocker, praised mcmaster's leadership over an elite counterinsurgency team in 2007. >> he was precise, he was focused, and gave us just what we needed to develop a plan that actually w

mcmaster succeeds michael flynn. he resigned a week ago after it revealed that he misled vice president mike pence about his contacts with russia's ambassador to the united states. that announcement coming hours after vice president pence saw to reassure america's european allies. pence declaring that the united states will continue to support nato that the member nations will need to increase their spending and their contributions. the vice president saying he is disappointed, was disappointed, excuse me, to learn that flynn withheld information from him. and defense secretary jim mattis making an unannounced visit to iraq today meeting with iraqi military commanders and political leaders. mattis telling the iraqis that the united states does not intend to seize the country's oil. that was something president trump talked about doing during the campaign. >>> we are also learning more about the potential contents much president trump's revised executive order on immigration. that new order now expected to target trav

general mcmaster is more hawkish on russia than mr. trump reportedly and feels very strongly about not turning the war on terror into a war on islam. how will that relationship work? can they work together? plus, thousands of people are protesting once again across the nation. you just heard it on the couch during "not my president day" rallies. whether expression like this is actually helping president trump. take a look. ♪ across new york state, from long island to buffalo, from rochester to the hudson valley, from albany to utica, creative business incentives, infrastructure investment, university partnerships, and the lowest taxes in decades are creating a stronger economy and the right environment in new york state for business to thrive. let us help grow your company's tomorrow - today at esd.ny.gov i'm ricardo, a sales and service consultant here at the xfinity store in bellevue, washington. here at the store, we offer internet, tv, phone, customer service, home security. every situation is a little different. it could be abou

general mcmaster. the question always is when donald trump picks somebody, how much autonomy will he have? will he have the president's ear or will he have to run around bannon? >> bannon was an advocate for mcmaster. several others, too. reince priebus and mike peps. he said very little yesterday, but to your point i think it is incumbent on the white house to find a way to make it work and i think if it does not work, it is going to raise all kinds of criticism. and the problem is mcmaster is so highly regarded and so highly regarded as not being a company man. i think that flynn did not have a wide command of respect among a lot of people. mcmaster clearly comes in in a difrmtd position. but, again, the white house is going to have to demonstrate that it is willing to let people have a different opinion. we have seen a slew of people fired in the last week for various reasons, but among them, past criticism of the current president. you had one person expected to be the deputy of the state departmen

so mcmaster will have to deal with him. who will be the one that has the president's ear when there is a national security crisis? who goes to brief the president when there might be something from north korea, russia or iran that president trump has to deal with? general mcmaster is known to be very precise, very organized with national security strategy. very, very experienced in all of this. tours in iraq, afghanistan, and his military career. mr. bannon perhaps looking or the at the policies. so he tried to bring calm and take complete charge of it. >> that's a big question. up next, rick santorum, the correspondent for the daily beast who has interviewed general mcmaster and our senior political analyst. let me start with you. you know lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster. what do you think? >> i think he is a stabilizing pick. as he smart guy. strategic. he is forward thinking. i think the big issue for him will be whether he can wrap his arms around an extraordinarily dysfunctional process. as barbara alluded to, whether

. >> mcmaster will become the national security adviser. >> i look forward to advancing the protection of the american people. >> nobody will be speaking ill of mcmaster. >> this is an upgrade over general flynn. >> the trump administration is tweaking the president's executive order on immigration. >> there's a fine line between keeping our community safe and taking away basic protections. >> and i am the least anti-semitic person. >> there's a question as to why the president has not condemned anti-semiticism in america. >> the president naming h.r. mcmaster as his new national security adviser, and the active duty officer assumed the role with several foreign policy changes under way. >> first off will be president trump's new executive order which is nearing completion, we are told, and now is the white house going to change the travel ban to address the concerns of the federal appeals court and will that be enough to satisfy political critics, and they are mounting questions as to why president trump doesn't go after anti-semitism in america like he does other things he says he is

mcmaster. barbara. >> reporter: don, in the end, the president picked an active duty serving military officer who really did not have the option of saying no to the commander and chief. >> he's a man of tremendous talent and experience. i watched and read a lot over the last two days. he is highly respected by everybody in the military and we're very honored to have him. >> reporter: army lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster with years of battle field experience and deeply aware of politics at the highest levels of military. >> i'd just like tosy what a privilege it is to continue suving our nation. i look forward to joining the national security team and doing everything i can to advance and protect the interest of the american people. >> reporter: but now he wades into white house politics and a national security counsel in term oil since the firing of michael flynn for not telling vice president mike pence the truth about his contacts with russia. mcmaster is known to be very plain spoken. peopl

mcmaster as national security adviser. senior msnbc -- nbc reporting that mcmasters intend to stay on active duty while serving in the post. questions remaining about normer general michael flynn and contacts with russia. vice president pence is speaking out for the first time about being misled by flynn. >> i was disappointed to learn that the facts that had been conveyed to me by general flynn were inaccurate. but we honor general flynn's long serve to the united states. and i fully support the president's decision to ask for his resignation. >> -- no one on the trump campaign had contact with the agent. >> the answer is no we don't know of any contacts with russian agent. they have assured me that "new york times" story was grossly over stated, inaccurate and totally wrong. >> congressman eric is democratic from the state of california. now, this proposed bill has the backing of every house democrat plus a lone republican, nice to see you. >> thank you. >> all right. tell me, what's wrong there's so many investigation b

is it going to be mcmaster? >> some of the reporting that cnn has around why general harward turned down the offer from the president last week on this is because he didn't think he could bring in his own team. but now here's what's the president's chief of staff reince priebus is saying. >> the president has said very clearly that the new nsa director will have total and complete say over the makeup of the nsc and all of the components of the nsc. and there is no demand made by president trump on any nsa director. >> how important for mcmaster to bring in his own team? >> it's critical. the decision by admiral harward maybe gave mcmaster more leverage. one of the first things to watch is who he brings in and does he change some of the people brought in by general flynn. >> let's listen to something that general mcmaster did say. he did this video with the army about developing talent. here is the general in his own words. >> oftentimes we can confuse activity with progress if we're not thinking critically about

mcmaster in iraq and h.r. mcmaster as a tank commander. so he has the full spectrum. he's incredibly agile. >> some perspectives say that the president has do many military people around him. do you think that's a good thing? >> well, there's a difference between having too many military people and having the right and smart military people. look, i'm very pleasantly surprised by this appointment. i worked with general mcmaster when i was on the armed services committee. we worked together on the issue of professional military education, that is how we educate our troops and invest them with critical thinking and very challenging and complex environments. he is a warrior psycholoscholar. i understands hard power and soft power. and i believe he can bring order to chaos. the challenge will be, will president trump actually listen to him? will he take the general's recommendations and implement them? if he does, i do believe we have an opportunity to institute order to chaos. >> so congressman, are you still concerned about steve bannon's presence on the principal's gro

mcmaster was not the president's first choice. sources tell cnn he initially offered the position to a retired vice admiral who turned it down. defense secretary james mattis is in iraq trying to clarify president trump's past remarks about taking the country's oil. mattis is also working on a plan to step up the fight against isis, which the president has requested by the end of the month. and as we await a new executive order on travel from the president, cnn has obtained draft memos from the department of homeland security outlines some aggressive new guidelines for carrying out the president's immigration policies. they would tighten current immigration laws pertaining to asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors and people awaiting immigration proceedings. we are covering all of that and much more this hour. congressman ruben giago, and our correspondents and expert analysts are standing by. let's begin with the breaking news. the new national security advisor. general mcmaster replaces the fired general michael flynn. >> that is

mcmaster as his new national security adviser. he replaces retired general michael flynn, who trump fired one week ago tonight for misleading the vice president about contacts he'd had with russia's ambassador to the u.s. margaret brennan is at the white house where the president returned this evening from florida. >> he's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. >> reporter: president trump introduced lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster as his new national security adviser after spending the weekend at his mar-a-lago estate interviewing candidates. the 54-year-old career army officer is known as one of the most successful battlefield commanders in iraq. >> i'd just like to say what a privilege it continue serving our nation. >> reporter: as an active duty general, mcmaster still serves as a commander-in-chief and is less able to make sta

mcmaster. >> the man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. he is highly respected by everybody in the military and we are very honored to have him. >> mcmaster is a battle-tested, decorated officer and military strategist and served in first gulf war, afghanistan and iraq and ph.d in military history and he's ready to answer the call. >> i just like to say what a privilege it is to be be able to continue serving our nation. i'm grateful to you for that opportunity and i look forward to joining the national security team and doing everything i can to advance and protect the interest of the american people. >> respect for mcmaster is widespread. he's receiving praise from congressional democrats like new york congressman steve israel who tweets, i worked with general mcmaster on how we educate our troops, he's a brilliant leader who understand understands, good pick, he also got president obama's national security adviser susan rice tweeting, congrats to lieutenant general mcmaster, i wish you every success as national security adviser. mcmaste

mcmaster in iraq and h.r. mcmaster as a tank commander. so he has the full spectrum. he's incredibly agile. knowledgeable about national security on all levels. i think you'll have no presidob getting the president's ear. >> some perspectives say that the president has do many military people around him. do you think that's a good thing? >> well, there's a difference between having too many military people and having the right and smart military people. look, i'm very pleasantly surprised by this appointment. i worked with general mcmaster when i was on the armed services committee. we worked together on the issue of professional military education, that is how we educate our troops and invest them with critical thinking and very challenging and complex environments. he is a warrior scholar. i understands hard power and soft power. and i believe he can bring order to chaos. the challenge will be, will president trump actually listen to him? will he take the general's recommendations and implement them? if he does, i do believe we have an opportunity to institute order

" caught up with then colonel mcmaster. working with iraqi forces to retake the town of telafar. mcmaster was not the first choice to replace flynn. the president offered the job to general harwood. the white house now says that mcmaster will have full authority to hire whomever he wants on the national security staff. gayle, it's worth pointing out that mcmaster unlike other generals in the circle was still active duty. therefore duty bound to accept the president's request or risk future career advancements. >>> cbs news has confirmed that the white house will soon reveal sweeping new immigra the new rules could lead to deportation and detention. the changes will also target a recent increase of undocumented young people crossing the border by themselves. jeff pegues is in washington with what to expect in the upcoming announcement. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, the trump administration is putting the final touches on the guidelines expected to toughen the immigration law. among the changes, immediate ret

mcmaster will become the national security adviser. he's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. >> reporter: a senior administration official tells nbc news the president chose lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster because he's both a warrior and a defense intellectual. at 54 years old, mcmaster is highly decorated, having served in both iraq wars and in afghanistan. also hailed for his military book "dereliction of duty" about officers who refused to tell president johnson at the time he was wrong about vietnam. now mcmaster is in a position of having to weigh if and when to speak out to the president and while some in foreign policy circles question his national security expertise, the announcement was largely received with bipartisan support. >> i don't know if h.r. ever sleeps at night. >> reporter: the former u.s. ambassador to iraq, ryan crocker, praised mcmaster's leadership over an elite counterinsurgency team. >> he was precise, focused, gave us just what we needed to develop a plan that actually worked for the next

mcmaster, why are you confident in this selection? >> well, chris, i think it is one of the best selections that could have been made given the circumstances for the national security adviser. he has combat experience, he's got staff experience, and he has really the kind of think tank experience. a lot of that to the table and that's why i'm very confidence that this is a very good pick for a position that is probably next to the white house chief of staff, one of the most powerful positions in the white house. >> let's pull back one of the labels for a second. he's identified as one of general petraeus's smart guys. he's called a warrior thing. what is that? >> a warrior thinger is somebody who not only fights the battles and uses his experience to win tactical victories, but it's somebody who can pull back from that and they kind of take an approach that is a 30-thousand foot approach that allows you to see not only what the tactics are but also to help formulate the strategies that allow you to win wars. a warrior thinker in this

mcmaster as the new national security adviser. mcmaster replaces general michael flynn. we're sure to learn more about general mcmaster in the coming days. president trump is expected to visit the u.k. later this year. the british parliament is wondering whether to take back the invitation. nearly two million people signed an online petition said the visit would cause embarrassment to the queen. the invitation still stands. mike pence has been leading with european leaders overseas. he says the u.s. still has strong commitment to working with europe. in the past up has said the e.u. could fall apart. blake burman is at the white house with more. >> one of the things that president trump complained about in records to nato, split put, some of the nato countries just need to pay their fair share. at issue, an agreement struck by the 26-minute nation that goes as follows. they need to contribute 2% of their gdp for defense. it's believed only the united states and four other countries have so far met that goal. in brussels, vice president pence standing alongside the nato s

mcmaster, national security advisor. >> great choice. i have had experience with lieutenant general mcmaster. first great national security intellectual. an independent thinker. he's perfectly willing to speak truth to his spearers. that was his focus on his book on vietnam, "dereliction of duty." lou: that attitude, that structure of values, personal and professional values he expressed in that book the nation could have benefited from over the course of the last decade and a half. spond in the way he describes a reference in that book. >> i would just say, lou, it has to be said, in iraq, well before anybody else understood or thought about a surge. this man proved the strategic of that concept in a northern city he transformed overnight from an insurgent hotbed, probably the most the the successful example we had in the entire war. lou: china, the u.s.s. carl vinson in the south china sea on patrol. major statement to china. your thoughts. >> an excellent step long overdue. the obama administration didn't run these kinds of missions e

mcmaster and why did the president hire him? will the same seven mostly muslim countries be on the list and will this one survive the courts. plus an assassination caught on tape. it shows kim jong un's half brother being taken out in an extremely bizarre way. welcome to the lead, i'm jim shudo in for jake tapper. begin with breaking news. after the very early dismissal of michael flynn, president trump this afternoon took us by surprise announcing that army lieutenant general, that is three stars, h.r. mcmaster is his new national security advisor. >> a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. i watched and read a lot over the last two days. he is highly respected by everybody in the military. and we are very honored to have him. >> general mcmaster is a career army officer who commanded troops to the gulf war, also in the wars in iraq and afghanistan, leading a successful counter insurgency at one of the lowest points of the iraq war. right now mr. trump is preparing to leave florida and return to the white house. t

mcmaster will become the national security adviser. he's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. >> reporter: a senior administration official tells nbc news the president chose lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster because he's both a warrior and defense intellectual. at 54 years old he's highly decorated having served in both iraq wars and also haled for his book "dereliction of duty" about officers who failed to tell president johnson he was wrong about vietnam. now he's in a position of having to weigh if and when to speak out to the president and some question his national security expertise, the announcement was largely received with bipartisan support. >> i don't know if h.r. ever sleeps at night. >> reporter: the former u.s. ambassador to iraq praised mcmaster's leadership over an elite counter insurgency team in 2011. >> he was precise, he was focused and gave us just what we need to develop a plan that actually worked for the next two years. >> reporter: lieutenant general mcmaster beat out three other candidates tha

mcmaster? >> don, that's a wonderful choice. h.r. mcmaster has a tremendous reputation in the military, he's a very, very -- very highly regarded ph.d.. so he's both a soldier and he's a scholar. he's got incredible combat qualifications from the military. he came up -- as he was progressing through the ranks. he was identified early on during desert storm he won the silver star, he was identifies as a leader that would take us through the next generation. sadly what happened, for whatever reason, he was pushed aside. because he was speaking out about the type of leadership that's necessary to move this military forward, he's the author of the book that's incredibly damning about the department of defense during the vietnam war called dereliction of duty. many embraced that, i don't know that we need this type of criticism, this vocally in the military, it took a couple of selections for general officers to finally get him over the threshold and accelerate through. now he's doing incredible things in the military. >> how is that defi

mcmaster, national security advisor. >> great choice. i have had experience with lieutenant general mcmaster. first great national security intellectual. an independent thinker. he's perfectly willing to speak truth to his spearers. that was his focus on his book on vietnam, "dereliction of duty." lou: that attitude, that structure of values, personal and professional values he expressed in that book the nation could have benefited from over the course of the last decade and a half. a lot of generals did not respond in the way he describes a reference in that book. >> i would just say, lou, it has to be said, in iraq, well before anybody else understood or thought about a surge. this man proved the strategic of that concept in a northern city he transformed overnight from an insurgent hotbed, probably the most the the successful example we had in the entire war. lou: china, the u.s.s. carl vinson in the south china sea on patrol. major statement to china. your thoughts. >> an excellent step long overdue. the obama administration didn't r

i have to say mcmaster is a thoughtful guy. this is a well-considered view with a lot of evidence behind it. and the review he was doing, i think was in collaboration or in contact with the pentagon. >> it's interesting. one way to look at this is, you know, that it speaks well to donald trump that he's willing to have mcmaster as the adviser. general mattis who is running the defense department just the other day, you know, said when he was going to iraq, look, we're not here to take iraq's oil. which is in direct conflict with what president trump had said saying he wished the u.s. had done. one way to look at it is perhaps it's a good thing that the president is willing to have diversing viewpoints in his inner circle. >> one has to give president trump enormous credit for the whole with range of his national security appointments now. when you look at mattis, tillerson, mcmaster, you look even at mike pompeo who's is a bright guy. nikki haley, accomplished woman. it's an impressive bunch of people. now, the director of nati

mcmaster. the president touting his credentials saying he is the perfect person for this job. >> a man of tremendous talent and experience. i watched and read a lot over the last two days. he is highly respected by everybody in the military and we're very honored to have him. >> shannon: john roberts begins our live coverage today. the big news of the day the announcement beefing up enforcement of our immigration laws. what can we expect the president to say today? >> good morning. half an hour from now the department of homeland security will release two implementation memos. basically the instructions to customs and border patrol and immigration and customs enforcement how to implement the desires of the president when he signed those two executive orders removing criminal aliens on the 25th of january. these are draft copies of the memo. don't yet have the final copies. i'm told they're very similar to what the final draft will be with the exception of some legal language. here is what we kn

mcmaster has accepted the position. >> mcmaster's selection between the trump administration can now focus on version two of its immigration ban. the he revised policy is set to be rolled out in just a few days. cecilia vega wraps up the start of what's expected to be a busy week in washington. >> the president making a spr announcement from a couch in his ornate mar-a-lago clubhouse. seated right there next to him, his new national security adviser, general h.r. mcmaster. >> he's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. i watched and read a lot over the last two days. he is highly respected by everybody in the military, and we're very honored to have him. >> reporter: known as one of the army's leading thinkers, mcmaster served in the first gulf war, afghanistan and iraq. he is also a west point grad with a p.h.d. in military history. >> i'd just like to say what a privilege it is to be able to continue serving our nation. >> reporter: he replaces the controversial michael flynn, fired by the president after lying about his conversations with the russians. flynn's ouste

mcmaster as his adviser.nal security mcmaster is a respected military challengingnown for conventional thinking and hoping to turn around the iraqi war during its darkest days. uncertainty days of , president trump has named his national security adviser. herbert raymond mcmaster will replace michael flynn who was sacked three weeks into the job over his contacts with russia. addressing the media in florida, trump praised mcmaster from a military strategist for his solid experience. >> and management's talent and tremendous experience. -- a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. he is highly respecter by everybody in the military. >> gentleman master was devoid twice to iraq and served in afghanistan. mcmaster was deployed twice to iraq and served in afghanistan. he trained his troops to respect iraqi culture. most important lever trump's , he seems much where your of russia's intentions. trump'simportantly to eritics, he seems much wari of russia's intentions. his appointment has been praised by republicans and democrats alike who have criticized trump in the past. john m

mcmaster will become the national security adviser. he's man of tremendous talent hed tremendous experience. >> mason: also tonight, russia's ambassador to the united nations dies suddenly in new york. more rain brings a new threat of flooding and mudslides in northern california. >> three, two, one, liftoff. >> mason: one giant leap for the commercial space industry. a manned flight could be on the horizon. and... >> he can't be stopped. >> mason: the diminutive basketball star reaching new heights. t i always wanted to prove people wrong ever since i was in middle school. this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> mason: good evening. scott is off tonight. i'm anthony mason. this is our western edition. president trump filled a key position on his national security team today. he chose lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster as his new national security adviser. he replaces retired general michael flynn, who trump fired one week ago tonight for misleading the vice president about contacts he'd had with russia's ambassador to the u

mcmaster made the comment that this plays into their propaganda. and this is a religious war against islam and that hurts u.s. efforts to work with muslim allies to defeat terrorist groups. we are told mcmaster had a strikingly different tone than mike flynn who was forced to resign last week after the controversy over his discussions with the russian ambassador. now in contrast, president trump who has praised vladimir putin, mcmaster said russia was an adversary. so all of this repudiation of president trump's language and word view, the president doesn't seem to be that bent out of shape about it. the white house acknowledging a difference of opinion on language but not about the approach to fight terrorism. president trump does seem to be impressionable to the opinions of his aides and so career staff, many of whom agree with mcmaster's world view, are hoping he can push a more moderate u.s. foreign policy. officials say his arrival and his discussions with staff are really boosting morale, which was sinking under flynn. we'll have to see wheth

mcmaster will become the national security adviser. he's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. >> reporter: a senior administration official tells nbc news the president chose lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster because he's both a warrior and a defense intellectual. at 54 years old, mcmaster is highly decorated, having served in both iraq wars and in afghanistan. also hailed for his military book "dereliction of duty" about officers who refused to tell president johnson at the time he was wrong about vietnam. now mcmaster is in a position of having to weigh if and when to speak out to the president and while some in foreign policy circles question his national security expertise, the announcement was largely received with bipartisan support. >> i don't know if h.r. ever sleeps at night. >> reporter: the former u.s. ambassador to rairaq, ryan crocker, praised mcmaster's leadership over an elite counterinsurgency team. >> he was precise, focused, gave us just what we needed to develop a plan that actually work the next two

mcmaster will become the national security adviser. he's man of them does talent and tremendous experience. >> mason: also tonight, russia's ambassador to the united nations dies suddenly in new york. more rain brings a new threat of flooding and mudslides in northern california. >> three, two, one, liftoff. >> mason: one giant leap for the commercial space industry. a manned flight could be on the horizon. and... >> he can't be stopped. >> mason: the diminutive basketball star reaching new heights. >> i always wanted to prove people wrong ever since i was in middle school. this is the "cbs evening news" with anthony mason. >> mason: good evening. scott is off tonight. i'm anthony mason. president trump filled a key position on his national security team today. he chose lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster as his new national security adviser. he replaces retired general michael flynn, who trump fired one week ago tonight for misleading the vice president about contacts he'd had with russia's ambassador to the u.s. margaret brennan is at t

>> i dochltd i do know general mcmaster a bit. he is shut will he without a doubt as barbara starr reported one of the most brilliant minds in the u.s. military today. it was a very wise choice on the part of president trump to do this. he has a lot of potential. he is i would say this generation's version perhaps 6 even a brent psycho croft or collin powell, both of them previous national security advisors. this is a very good pick for the national security community. >> okay. and then what about just in terms of the timing? lin sweet, do you agree with david chalian in saying for a white house complaining of leaks this was sort of a surprise how had he handled this? >> i think -- no. i'm not surprised. i don't mean to disagree with you david so much, we knew these gentlemen were in play and we know that trump likes to make announcements in the way he does, with these guys on the couch. here's what i think is interest. >> uh-huh. >> one, he said, doe there doesn't have to be a leak, that runner up john boulton is going to get ano

mcmaster will become the national security adviser. he's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. >> reporter: a senior administration official tells nbc news the president chose lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster because he's both a warrior and defense intellectual. at 54 years old he's highly decorated having served in both iraq wars and in afghanistan and hailed for his book "dereliction of duty" about officers who failed to tell president johnson he was wrong about vietnam. now he's in a position of having to weigh if and when to speak out to the president and some question his national security expertise, the announcement was largely received with bipartisan support. >> i don't know if h.r. ever sleeps at night. >> reporter: the former u.s. ambassador to iraq praised mcmaster's leadership over an elite counter insurgency team in 2011. >> he was precise, he was focused and gave us just what we need to develop a plan that actually worked for the next two years. >> reporter: lieutenant general mcmaster beat out three other

mcmaster has been tapped. mcmaster has been serving as head of the army's integration center in virginia. he has a ph.d.. mcmaster is known for his intellect and his willingness to speak out on military issues. the president's pick earned praise from republican and some democrats. including senator john mccain, republican critic of trump. more from cnn's sara murray at the white house. >> reporter: good morning, boris and ana. president trump capped off a weekend in mar-a-lago by naming lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster for the job. >> h.r. mcmaster will become the national security vikurecurity . he is highly respected by everybody in the military. we're very honored to have him. >> i would like to say what a privilege it is to continue serving our nation. i'm grateful for that opportunity. i look forward to joining the national security team and doing everything i can to advance and protect the interests of the american people. >> you will do a great job. >> reporter: donald trump's pick came a week after he

the president congratulated mcmaster on twitter. the president chose mcmaster after spending the weekend interviewing candidates for the job, and the acting national security adviser will become mcmaster's chief of staff. major garrett is at the white house with details on the replacement of major michael flynn. >> reporter: good morning. mcmaster is known as one of the most successful battlefield commanders of iraq, and the national security adviser is different, and lots and lots of politics, and even so the president says he is confident his new team is ready. >> our country is lucky to have two people like this. >> flanked by his present security adviser, kellogg, president introduces mcmaster. >> i watched and read a lot over the last two days, and he is highly respected by everybody in the military. >> mcmaster served in the first gulf war, afghanistan and iraq. he will be the fourth general appointed to a senior position in the trump administration, after james mattis, john kelly, and ousted national security adviser, mike fl

mcmaster will become the national security advisor. a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience i watched and read over the last few days. he's highly respected by everybody in the military and we're very honorered eed to ha. >> how did the president decide on lieutenant mcmasters? >> the white house had to move quickly to fill this position. this is the top national security advisor. when michael flynn held this role this is someone the president turned to for information every single day. he spent the weekend pouring over these potential picks and eventually decided on lieutenant mcmaster and he said it was really a combination of the combat experience as well as his intellectual drive that really sold trump on the pick and that's where we are today, don. >> do you have new reporting on ohio governor john kasich slated to meet with him? >> reporter: we've learned that there is a tentative meeting between president trump and the ohio governor. remember, the governor was a fierce critic of trump throughout the presidential cam

mcmaster will become the national security adviser. he's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience. >> reporter: a senior administration official tells nbc news the president chose lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster because he's both a warrior and defense intellectual. at 54 years old he's highly iraq wars and also haled for his book "dereliction of duty" about officers who failed to tell president johnson he was wrong about vietnam. now he's in a position of having to weigh if and when to speak out to the president and some question his national security expertise, the announcement was largely received with bipartisan support. >> i don't know if h.r. ever sleeps at night. >> reporter: the former u.s. ambassador to iraq praised mcmaster's leadership over an elite counter insurgency team in 2011. >> he was precise, he was focused and gave us just what we need to develop a plan that actually worked for the next two years. >> reporter: lieutenant general mcmaster beat out three other candidates that the president interviewed this

no reason to think general mcmaster would have any issue with this, but sean spicer said he would be able to bring his own team in and put them in place. we do not know yet what the topic of that meeting was or if steve bannon was in the meeting. >> jeff zeleny reporting for us at the white house. the president's choice to replace michael flynn as national security advisor, lieutenant general hr mcmaster is drawing strong support from all along the political spectrum. let's go to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. the president and the general, they're both strong willed. they may have different ideas, though, about russia. will they get along? >> well, you should expect to see general mcmaster be exactly who he is, very plain spoken, not a yes man. but also deferential to the commander in chief when need be. today the white house said that general mcmaster would remain on active duty as the security advisor, and that means he may face a senate confirmation. lieutenant general hr massachusetts ter has a long history of speaking up about russia and vladimir putin. >> war is an