A retired navy admiral reportedly tapped by President Donald Trump to be his national security advisor has declined the post, US media said on Thursday.

Robert Harward’s rejection leaves President Donald Trump without a replacement for retired general Michael Flynn, who resigned over accusations over his links with the Russian ambassador in Washington.

Officially Harward said he had turned down the job because of family and financial commitments.

However several US media outlets, including CNN and Politico, reported late Thursday that Harward was unhappy because he had no guarantees that the National Security Council — and not Trump’s political advisors — would be in charge of policy,

In a statement read on CNN, Harward said he had turned down the job because he “could not make that commitment.”

“This job requires 24 hours a day, seven days a week focus and commitment to do it right. I currently could not make that commitment,” the statement read.

He added that since retiring he’s had a chance “to address financial and family issues that would have been challenging in this position.”

An unnamed Harward friend told CNN he refused the job because of the chaos at the White House, while the Washington Post said it was in part because he would not be able to choose his own staff.

Source: AFP