KT McFarland

KT McFarland
Deputy National Security Advisor
Designate
Taking office
January 20, 2017
President Donald Trump (elect)
Succeeding Avril Haines
Personal details
Born Kathleen Troia
(1951-07-22) July 22, 1951
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Alan Roberts McFarland
Alma mater George Washington University
(BA)
University of Oxford (BA, MA)
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology

Kathleen Troia "K.T." McFarland (born July 22, 1951) was selected on November 25, 2016 as President-elect Donald Trump's Deputy National Security Advisor. Previously she was an American national security analyst and a former and designated government security official. McFarland had been serving as a Fox News national security analyst, host of its DEFCON program, and contributor to its Opinions page columnist.

Early life

McFarland talks with the deputy commander of ISAF Lt Gen J.B Dutton

McFarland was born Kathleen Troia on July 22, 1951 in Madison, Wisconsin, the eldest of four children of Edith (née Fuller; 1929–2011)[1] and August Joseph Troia (1925–2013).[2] McFarland is a graduate of George Washington University.[3][4]

Career

Mcfarland was senior speechwriter to and principal deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Pentagon spokesman under Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. In 1985, she received the Defense Department's highest civilian award, the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award .[5]

McFarland is a board member of The Jamestown Foundation.[5]

2006 Senate campaign

McFarland ran as a Republican in the New York United States Senate election, 2006, for the seat then held by Democrat Hillary Clinton.[6]

In its report, Hernandez substantiated her work on the "Star Wars" speech, but indicated that the most famous part—known as "the insert," announcing Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative—had been written by President Reagan himself, with his "top national security advisers".[7] Spencer raised questions early in the campaign regarding two specific claims McFarland had made about her career: that "[s]he had worked on ["drafted"] President Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" speech and had been the highest-ranking woman at the Reagan Pentagon," claims which Raymond Hernandez of The New York Times described as "not entirely accurate". Regarding her being the highest ranking woman of her time at the Reagan Pentagon, Hernandez reported that while McFarland was "a close confidante of Defense Secretary… Weinberger" and that statements regarding her roles as speechwriter and spokeswoman were accurate, that two women who were at the Pentagon at the time held higher ranks.[7] Hernandez, however, noted that unlike the positions of the other two, McFarland's position "put her at the core of the defense secretary's policy team," an assertion substantiated by a former deputy defense secretary at the time, William Howard Taft 4th; Taft is reported to have gone on to say that while two other women outranked McFarland, with the latter's "access to the secretary of defense," McFarland's was the more prominent role.[7]

McFarland's defenses to the charges of her opponent, as stated by The Times, were that she had reported being the civilian equivalent a two-and-a-half-star general (not a three-star, as Spencer stated), that she had "never claimed authorship for the section [in question] of the "Star Wars" speech," and that the highest ranking claim was what "she was told… [during] her hiring and that she never had reason to question it."[7] The Times notes in summary that the issues raised were a consequence of McFarland's campaign making her military-related governtment service experience the most important of her qualifications in her run for the Senate seat, and that, otherwise, the unqualified statement made by McFarland on her résumé were of the sort typical of the "polishing" being done, in general, by politicians and polical hopefuls running for office.[7]

Fox News and David Petraeus

It was reported in late 2012 that, as a Fox News analyst headed to Afghanistan in spring 2011, McFarland carried a message from Roger Ailes to commanding General David Petraeus encouraging Petraeus to run for president if President Barack Obama did not offer Petraeus the position of head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Obama later offered Petraeus the top CIA job, Petraeus accepted it and no Petraeus presidential campaign developed.[8] McFarland responded to the 2012 report by writing that Ailes was "joking" in sending his message and that "Petraeus and I were having fun" engaging in "the kind of idle speculation that happens in every campaign season". She also raised the questions of how the off-the-record conversation was taped and how the tape was then released 18 months later, writing they were "more interesting" than the ones considered in the initial report.[9]

Trump administration

On November 25, 2016, it was reported McFarland was selected as President-elect Donald Trump's Deputy National Security Advisor, a position that does not require Senate confirmation.[10][11]

McFarland has been highly critical of President Obama's approach to combating terrorism, saying he has not acknowledged the threat that global Islamism poses to Western civilization.[12]

Personal life

KT McFarland is married to Alan Roberts McFarland.[13] KT McFarland has two brothers, Tom and Michael, the latter of which died of an AIDS-related illness on June 8, 1995.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current - Ancestry.com". Ancestry.com. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  2. ↑ "U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current - Ancestry.com". ancestry.com. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  3. ↑ Eaton, Phoebe (July 3, 2007). "Grand Old Class War". New York.
  4. ↑ Burke, Cathy (June 25, 2006). "Hill Foe 'KT' Outed Her Dying Brother". New York Post.
  5. 1 2 Board members, The Jamestown Foundation web site. Retrieved December 1, 2016
  6. ↑ "The real story of Kathleen McFarland is much better than the new scandal".
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Hernandez, Raymond (March 23, 2006). "Questions Arise About Résumé of Challenger to Clinton". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ Woodward, Bob, "Fox News chief’s failed attempt to enlist Petraeus as presidential candidate", Washington Post, December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  9. ↑ McFarland, K.T., "My Petraeus interview firestorm silly, off-base", FoxNews.com, December 4, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  10. ↑ Markon, Jerry; Tumulty, Karen Tumulty & Demirjian, Karoun (November 25, 2016). "Trump Fills White House Counsel and Deputy National Security Posts". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  11. ↑ Jacobs, Jennifer & Olorunnipa, Toluse (November 25, 2016). "Trump Said to Name McFarland as Deputy National Security Adviser". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  12. ↑ Peters, Jeremy W. & Haberman, Maggie (November 25, 2016). "Donald Trump to Add K.T. McFarland to His National Security Team". The New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  13. ↑ Picket, Kerry (November 25, 2016). "Report: Fox News Security Analyst Tapped For Deputy National Sec. Adviser". Daily Caller. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Trump's nat'l security pick outed gay brother dying of AIDS", Washington Blade, November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.

Further reading

External links

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