US President Donald Trump has decided to sack National Security Adviser Herbert McMaster, in what would be the latest in a string of high-profile White House departures, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The newspaper said that Trump is discussing potential replacements for McMaster, but is willing to take his time because he wants to avoid humiliating him as well as to have a successor ready.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that there were no changes at the National Security Council, a response that avoided the issue of whether any were being planned, AFP reported.

Five people with knowledge of the plan were quoted by US media as saying that Trump was "comfortable" with firing McMaster, with whom he has never had personal chemistry.

They added that Trump was willing to take time implementing the move so as to ensure McMaster does not feel "humiliated" and that there is a strong successor to replace him.

Later, a White House official told Bloomberg that Trump has not made a final decision on removing McMaster.

However, Trump has reportedly told White House Chief of Staff John Kelly that he wants to fire McMaster and asked Kelly to help him weigh replacement options, according to two people familiar with their talks.

Trump has also complained that McMaster was too rigid and that his briefings went on too long and seemed irrelevant, according to the Washington Post's report.

Several people, including John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations that Trump has met with several times since assuming office, have been listed by the media as potential candidates for McMaster's post.

If confirmed, the change of personnel was expected to mark yet another shakeup in the senior ranks of the Trump administration.

The president announced the firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday, replacing him with Mike Pompeo, the current CIA chief.

John McEntee, Trump's longtime personal aide, was forced out of the White House on the same day after his security clearance was abruptly revoked.

On Wednesday, Trump nominated former TV analyst Larry Kudlow to replace Gary Cohn, his top economic adviser that quit over tariff disagreements with Trump.

The US media said that the mood inside the White House has verged on mania and anxiety in recent days due to the president's increasing interest in sacking people around him.

US analysts said the dramatic personnel moves would amplify Trump's authority in the decision-making process, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

"I'm really at a point where we're getting very close to having the Cabinet and other things that I want," Trump told reporters after Tillerson was fired.

Tillerson's sacking came less than two weeks after Trump's top economic advisor Gary Cohn quit in protest against the president's decision to levy tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

The previous year saw the departure of Trump's first national security advisor Michael Flynn - who lasted just 22 days in his post - as well as chief strategist Steve Bannon, who made it seven months, and Reince Priebus, who stayed in his job for less than six months. Speculation is rife over who will be the next official to go, AFP reported.

Agencies