Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, expressed support for President Donald Trump's decision to expel Russian diplomats from the U.S. in response to a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom.
"Felt familiar … felt a bit like old times," Hayden said Tuesday on CNN's "New Day" morning program.
"Look what just happened. We were tough on Russia. We acted in concert with our allies globally. The United States took a leadership role. Very un-Trumpian. So I'm very happy to see it," Hayden said.
Hayden said he believed U.S. allies were the reason for the expulsion.
"I think this actually came from the bureaucracy, came from the national security establishment and it came from our allies who did want to act in concert … I think the decision the president made here was not to pull it, but to not get in the way of it," Hayden said on CNN.
The U.S. said Monday that it would expel 60 diplomats, and British Prime Minister Theresa May said that 18 countries, including 14 in the European Union, had also agreed on expulsions that would total 100 Russian diplomats.
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