President Donald Trump's choice for national security adviser, retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward, turned down the offer, a senior White House official said Thursday evening. Harward got the nod following the firing of Michael Flynn, who mislead Vice President Mike Pence over conversations he had with the Russian ambassador to the US. Robert Harward A Republican official told CNN that Harward made it a condition of taking the job that he could form his own team, which would've put him at odds with Trump. Trump told Flynn's deputy, K.T. McFarland, that she could stay.