The change was made after a meeting at which H.R. McMaster invited NSC staff to voice concerns about procedures. | AP Photo NSC staff allowed back into the Oval Office for Trump's foreign calls H.R. McMaster reverses Michael Flynn's decision to send regional and country specialists to the Situation Room rather than keeping them close to the president.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster has invited top National Security Council staff back into the Oval Office for calls between President Donald Trump and foreign leaders, reversing a decision by his predecessor Michael Flynn to exile senior directors to the Situation Room during state calls.

For the first time since Trump took office, senior directors and country directors were present on Monday and Tuesday in the Oval alongside deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland for calls with leaders from Israel, Japan, South Korea and Kenya.


The change was made after an all-hands meeting at which McMaster invited NSC staff to submit notecards with their concerns about procedures, according to NSC spokesman Michael Anton. The absence of senior staff in the room to offer guidance to the president in real time was a top response. “That was a pretty consistent issue,” Anton said.

Flynn was forced to resign last month amid reports that he misled the vice president about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to Washington during the transition. During his short tenure, Flynn and his deputy David Cattler were frequently the only NSC officials present in the Oval Office during the calls.

Under President Barack Obama, a senior director for the region and the country director would be in the Oval Office along with the national security adviser during foreign calls. “If there’s an issue that the president wasn’t prepared for, he would look around the room for guidance,” said Brian McKeon, former executive secretary and chief of staff for the National Security Council under Obama.

That was true under other presidents as well. “In previous administrations, the senior director almost always would be in the Oval Office and brief the president for a few minutes prior to the call, assessing what the foreign leader would likely say and explaining U.S. objectives. He or she would then listen in and scribble a note if something unexpected came up,” said Sandy Vershbow, who served as senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council during the Clinton administration.

Banishing the National Security experts to the Situation Room was perceived as a way for Trump to put physical distance between himself and career staff who served under Obama, according to NSC officials. Trump subsequently accused career civil servants of leaking transcripts of tense telephone calls he had with his Australian and Mexican counterparts.

Chief strategist Steve Bannon and chief of staff Reince Priebus have been present in the Oval Office for nearly all of Trump’s calls with foreign leaders, as has Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner. Trump’s spokesperson Sean Spicer has been present during some calls, breaking with tradition of keeping press aides out the room.

“The president is well briefed before making the calls,” Anton said. “He knows what he wants to say and he’s going to say.”

Brett Bruen, a former NSC director of global engagement under Obama, said that having professional staff involved is important even if the president is fully briefed.

“Their involvement shouldn't be optional or occasional,” Bruen said. “Heads of state calls are the highest-stakes form of diplomacy. Without the participation of those who know the issues, they can easily and quickly enter mine fields. If the president can’t immediately turn to a regional expert for clarifications or questions when he’s talking with foreign leaders we may find ourselves in a very difficult or dangerous place.”