US President Donald Trump has said that he does not plan to make Secretary of State Mike Pompeo his national security adviser.
The president told reporters on Thursday (local time) that he spoke with Pompeo earlier in the day, and that the Secretary of State "liked the idea of somebody [else] in there," The Hill reported.
"I actually spoke to Mike Pompeo about that and he decided - I get along with him so well, we have a lot of the same views, couple of different views - but he likes the idea of having someone in there with him," Trump said.
The development comes a day after the President dismissed national security adviser John Bolton.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway earlier did not dismiss the possibility of the president tapping Pompeo for the role.
It is not unprecedented for a Secretary of State to simultaneously serve as the president's top national security adviser. Henry Kissinger held both roles for former President Richard Nixon.
After ousting Bolton due to disagreements with other members of his administration, the president was more transparent about his issues the next day, when he said the former aide had made "some very big mistakes" that set the administration back with its efforts in North Korea and Venezuela.
On Thursday, Trump announced that he has 15 candidates under consideration to replace Bolton.
"A lot of people want the job. It's a great job," he said.
"It's great because it's a lot of fun to work with Donald Trump. And it's very easy actually to work me. You know why it's easy? Because I make all the decisions," he was quoted as saying.
( With inputs from ANI )