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Trump names new national security adviser

President Donald Trump has tapped army lieutenant-general HR McMaster as his new national security adviser to replace the ousted Michael Flynn.

Trump announced the pick on Monday at his Palm Beach club and said McMaster was "a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience".

McMaster, who wore his uniform for the announcement, joins fellow former generals Jim Mattis and John Kelly, who are defence and homeland security secretaries, respectively.

Trump said retired army lieutenant-general Keith Kellogg, who had been his acting adviser, would serve as the National Security Council chief of staff.

He said he would ask John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, to work with them in a "somewhat different capacity".

Trump made the announcement from a luxurious living room, sitting on a couch between McMaster and Kellogg.

The president told reporters as he left the room that Vice-President Mike Pence had been involved in the selection process.

Trump brought four candidates for the position to Mar-a-Lago at the weekend for interviews.

McMaster called the appointment a "privilege".

He served in the first Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Considered a scholarly officer, McMaster holds a PhD in military history and has authored a book titled Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam.

He has also written articles questioning the planning for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The position of national security adviser does not require Senate confirmation.

Trump pushed out Flynn a week ago after revelations that the adviser had misled Pence about discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the US during the presidential transition.

Trump said in a news conference on Thursday he was disappointed by how Flynn had treated Pence but did not believe Flynn had done anything wrong by having the conversations.

Trump's first choice to replace Flynn, retired vice-admiral Robert Harward, turned down the offer.