Gen. Stanley McChrystal slipped out of the White House on Wednesday morning after meeting with President Barack Obama for less than 30 minutes to explain his damaging remarks about administration officials in a forthcoming Rolling Stone magazine article.

Obama is expected to make an announcement later in the day about whether McChrystal will keep his post as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

The general has been under fire after he and his staff made disparaging comments about Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden and numerous national security officials — a move that some critics say constitutes insubordination and warrants his termination.

White House officials have stayed mum about what was said during the meeting. But McChrystal’s abrupt departure from the White House after meeting with Obama is raising eyebrows since he was expected to attend a war council meeting immediately afterward.