A senior naval officer who served under President Donald Trump's Defense Secretary James Mattis is the leading candidate to replace Michael Flynn after the national security adviser resigned under pressure over his conversations with a Russian diplomat, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
Vice Adm. Robert Harward, who was deputy commander of U.S. Central Command under Mattis, will likely replace Flynn, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the White House scrambled to contain the fallout from the abrupt departure of one of the president's top advisers.
Flynn resigned late on Monday after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, in a potentially illegal action, and had later misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.