Army Reserve Major General Ricky Waddell will be second in command at the National Security Council. | Photo courtesy the U.S. Army Reserve Ricky Waddell named White House deputy national security adviser

Army Reserve Major General Ricky Waddell has been named deputy national security adviser, taking on a role that will soon be vacated by K.T. McFarland, two National Security Council officials told POLITICO.

Waddell will be second in command to National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, the sources said. Waddell, who became commander of the 76th Operational Response Command infantry in 2015, is the latest NSC hire by McMaster after former adviser Michael Flynn was pushed out.


Prior to leading the ORC, Waddell was deputy commander for mobilization and reserve affairs.

Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser for strategy, and Waddell will both report directly to McMaster. Waddell will run day-to-day operations and meetings and Powell will oversee long-term strategy and manage senior inter-agency relationships, an NSC official said. They will each lead deputies committee meetings, depending on the topic.

POLITICO previously reported that White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus earlier this month tried to keep McMaster from hiring Waddell as his deputy.

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McFarland is slated to depart later this year for Singapore, where she will be the U.S. ambassador. She has not been formally nominated for that post yet, a spokesperson for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said. Until then, she will stay on to help Waddell transition into the new role.

An NSC spokesperson declined to comment.