Flynn exit creates vacuum that Trump's pragmatists may fill

Published February 15, 2017

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson talks with Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani at the start of their meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (The Associated Press)

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FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2017 file photo, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is seen at the State Department in Washington. The dramatic departure of President Donald Trump's hard-hitting national security adviser creates a vacuum of power and raises a key question about U.S. foreign policy: Will the pragmatists in the administration now gain clout? (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2017, file photo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks at the Pentagon. The dramatic departure of President Donald Trump's hard-hitting national security adviser creates a vacuum of power and raises a key question about U.S. foreign policy: Will the pragmatists in the administration now gain clout? (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) (The Associated Press)

The dramatic departure of President Donald Trump's hard-hitting national security adviser has created a vacuum of power and raised a key question about Trump's foreign policy: Will the pragmatists in his administration gain clout?

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis are both known as levelheaded technocrats and stand to fill some of the void. That would help mollify anxious U.S. allies and even many Republicans who worry about Trump's foreign policy.

But Mattis and Tillerson will be contending with Steve Bannon, Trump's influential senior adviser. There's also Jared Kushner, the Trump son-in-law already playing an outsize role in his diplomacy.

Trump hasn't named a replacement for Michael Flynn. He resigned Monday night amid revelations he lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russia.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/flynn-exit-creates-vacuum-that-trumps-pragmatists-may-fill