NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/FIONA HILL: “The White House has tapped Fiona Hill, a highly regarded Russia scholar, to be the National Security Council’s senior director for Europe and Russia, an administration official said.
The Trump administration’s selection of Ms. Hill would bring a top expert with a sober view of Russian President Vladimir Putin to advise President Donald Trump as questions about his aides’ connections to Moscow continue to swirl.
Ms. Hill didn’t respond to a request for comment. If she accepts the offer and joins the NSC, she would bring a somewhat skeptical view toward prospects of U.S. rapprochement with the Kremlin, which would line up with her boss, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster.
Her choice also could signal moderation in the White House’s Russia policy that until Gen. McMaster’s arrival, pointed more toward Mr. Trump’s pledge to warm relations with Moscow. But that pledge has been tested by differences with Russia over Ukraine and Syria, and by controversy over ties and communications between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia.”
– Felicia Schwartz and Paul Sonne, “Trump Looks to Ex-Intelligence Officer, Putin Critic for National Security Council,” The Wall Street Journal online, March 2, 2017