Steve Bannon Removed From National Security Council
Bannon removed from NSC as H.R. McMaster consolidates authority.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Steve Bannon has been removed from the National Security Council. Bannon’s removal seems to be a condition of H.R. McMaster accepting the job of national security adviser.
The role of Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert is also being downgraded.
Bloomberg also reports, “Under the move, the national intelligence director, Dan Coats, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, are again “regular attendees” of the NSC’s principals committee.”
Bannon, who is the former chairman of the white supremacist website Breitbart, has no national security experience to speak of and his promotion to the National Security Council was unprecedented, even for the Trump administration.
People from both sides of the aisle blasted Donald Trump’s decision to appoint a political adviser to the National Security Council. Reporting indicates that the remove of Bannon is part of National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster consolidating authority over the Council and purging controversial figures like Bannon.
The Joint Chiefs chairman and intelligence director are having their roles on the principals committee restored.
One explanation being floated by the White House is that Bannon was originally put on the principals committee in order to keep an eye on Mike Flynn. However this explanation raises even more questions about what the White House know about Flynn and when they knew it.
