When new national security adviser H.R. McMaster moved into his White House digs several weeks ago, he inherited a number of staffers from his predecessor’s 24-day tenure. The holdovers had been drawn from a number of streams: Trump loyalists, transition and campaign officials, and others who were trusted by the departed national security advisor, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. 

Some are in senior positions: K.T. McFarland, the deputy national security adviser; chief of staff Keith Kellogg; Michael Anton, the National Security Council spokesman; and Victoria Coates, the senior director for strategic assessments. 

Officials in the intelligence community and the corridors of the White House have a collective nickname for all of the Flynn holdovers. The 'Flynn Stones,' as in, "They're a page right out of history. "

For now, the senior Flynn Stones and those in lesser positions are expected to stay on board as McMaster settles in. Also, the NSC staff has not yet been filled out with political appointees, those who share the president’s foreign policy beliefs. In the meantime, the desks have have been filled with assignees from the intelligence community and elsewhere. In the short term, say current and former national security officials, McMaster needs all the help he can get.

Longer term, intelligence officials think that Kellogg is the most likely of the Flynn holdovers to survive. McFarland, in the words of one, may find herself serving the administration in another capacity, perhaps as an "ambassador to some nice place."