Trump's foreign policy team is a 'snake pit,' senior Republican claims

'It’s broken and it’s going to have to be fixed one way or another. It can’t go on like this.'

National Security Adviser HR McMaster, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence listen during a news conference (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Donald Trump’s foreign policy team has become a “snake pit” rife with infighting, a new report has claimed.

Mr Trump argues regularly with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser HR McMaster – and the two advisers clash with each other, too, a senior Republican said.

“There are personality tensions between the president and Tillerson, between the President and McMaster, between McMaster and Tillerson,” the Republican, who is in close contact with the President's foreign policy team, told Politico.

“It’s broken and it’s going to have to be fixed one way or another," the person added. "It can’t go on like this.”

Another source, an outside adviser to the team, described Mr Tillerson and Mr McMaster as “in a death struggle,” with “each of them trying to get rid of the other.”

Mr Trump’s disagreements with his Secretary of State are well documented – from the time the President told Mr Tillerson not to bother with diplomacy in North Korea, to the now-infamous moment the Secretary reportedly called his boss a “moron”. (State Department employees denied this occurred.) Rumours have swirled since this summer that Mr Tillerson was looking to quit.

Mr Trump has also reportedly clashed with Mr McMaster, who, according to a BuzzFeed News report, called the President a "dope" and an "idiot" with the mind of a "kindergartner”. Bloomberg reported in August that the President was furious with Mr McMaster for contradicting him in conversations with South Korean leaders. Mr Trump denied this at the time, claiming he “couldn't be happier with HR”.

As these battles between Mr Trump and his advisers played out in the media, Mr Tillerson and Mr McMaster have appeared to be allied. Both men reportedly urged Mr Trump to certify Iran’s compliance with a historic nuclear deal, and to rethink his decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Both were reportedly shocked when Mr Trump failed to pledge his commitment to Article 5 in his NATO address.

But according to the latest report, the Secretary of State and national security adviser began feuding this summer, when Mr McMaster grew frustrated with what he saw as Mr Tillerson’s overstepping of boundaries.

Discord within the foreign policy team is especially significant now, as the Trump administration faces increasing challenges abroad. On top of the Jerusalem decision – which set off days of violent protests and a UN vote condemning the move – Mr Trump has also waded into conflicts in both Iran and Pakistan.

In his first tweet of the New Year, the President accused Pakistan of harbouring terrorists. In the next, he praised anti-government protesters in Iran, writing: “The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, called Mr Trump's remarks on the situation "deceitful and opportunist". Pakistan has summoned the US ambassador in the country to explain the President's tweets.