President Trump's national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, might soon be back in the military, half a dozen defense and administration officials told CNN.

Trump and McMaster's strained relationship was not helped this weekend by the president's public criticism of the three-star general. "General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians and that the only Collusion was between Russia and Crooked H, the DNC, and the Dems," Trump tweeted. One Republican insider explained that the tension between the pair comes from a difference in "personality and style."

The White House would be in an awkward spot trying to oust McMaster, though, because of the turnover in the position already: Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is notably at the heart of the ongoing Russia investigation. Although Pentagon officials are reportedly looking for a possible four-star military job for McMaster that could be viewed as a promotion, "some defense officials caution that the president could also go as far as not to offer him a fourth star and force him to retire," CNN writes.

While the reports could be nothing more than rumors, a person with knowledge of the situation summed up McMaster's standing: "He is safe until he's not." Jeva Lange