Trump Taps Fox News Analyst For National Security

President-elect Donald Trump has filled two key positions on his National Security Council, his transition team confirmed Thursday. Among them is a former Fox News analyst appointed to the position of senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council. So, who is Monica Crowley? She stands to wield a significant amount of influence over security policies.

Trump will be the second president Crowley will serve. The 48-year-old began her career in foreign policy as a foreign policy assistant and communications director for former President Richard Nixon from 1990 to 1994. Her time working for Nixon inspired Crowley to write two best-selling books, Nixon off the Record: His Candid Commentary on People and Nixon in Winter . She has also written What the (Bleep) Just Happened ... Again?: The Happy Warrior's Guide to the Great American Comeback.

Fox News immediately terminated Crowley's contract Thursday after her appointment to Trump's National Security Council was confirmed, a spokesperson for the network told the Hill. According to her bio on Fox News, Crowley first joined the network as a political and international affairs analyst in 1998 but left in 2004. In 2008, she rejoined Fox News as a contributor. Crowley has also reportedly worked for MSNBC and served as a commentator for NPR's Morning Edition.

Crowley has long been a Trump supporter, praising many of his Cabinet picks on Twitter. "I am deeply honored, humbled and grateful to be asked by the president-elect to join the extraordinary national security team he is assembling," Crowley said in a statement released Thursday by Trump's transition team. "With vision, courage and moral clarity, he is committed fully to re-establishing America’s singular place in the world. He is also committed to selecting the best people for the jobs of keeping the American people safe and the country secure. It will be a great privilege to serve with them."

The former Fox News analyst has also worked as the online opinion editor for the Washington Times. In a column from 2015, she likened the refugee crisis to acts of jihad.

Crowley is not the only former Fox News analyst to be appointed to Trump's national security team. KT MacFarland was named Trump's deputy national security adviser in November. Her contract with the news network was also terminated in light of her appointment.