U.S. President Donald Trump favors giving the job of White House national security adviser to Vice Admiral Robert Harward, White House officials have said.
Reuters reported that Harward, a former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, has been offered the job.
Harward would replace Michael Flynn, who was ousted from the post on February 13 after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office.
Losing his national security adviser so soon after taking office is an embarrassment for the new Republican president, who has made national security a top priority.
Harward, who went to school in Tehran before the shah was toppled in 1979, did a tour on the National Security Council under former Republican President George W. Bush, working on counterterrorism.
He also has combat experience on Navy SEAL teams and served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Harward now works as an executive for defense contractor Lockheed Martin, with responsibility for its business in the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East.