Donald Trump removes Steve Bannon from National Security Council
WASHINGTON: President Trump reshuffled his national security organisation on Wednesday, removing his chief strategist, Stephen K Bannon, from a top policy-making committee and restoring senior military and intelligence officials who had been downgraded when he first came into office.
The shift was orchestrated by Lt. Gen. HR McMaster, who was tapped as Trump’s national security adviser after the resignation of Michael T Flynn, who stepped down in February after being caught misleading Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador.
General McMaster inherited an organisational scheme for the National Security Council that stirred protests because of Bannon’s role. The original setup made Bannon, the former chairman of Breitbart News, a member of the principals committee that typically includes cabinet-level officials like the vice president, secretary of state and defence secretary. The original order also made the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence only occasional participants as issues demanded.
A new order issued by Trump, dated Tuesday and made public on Wednesday, removes Bannon from the principals committee, restores the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and intelligence director and also adds the energy secretary, CIA director and United Nations ambassador.
A senior White House official presented the move as a logical evolution, not a setback for Bannon. He had originally been put on the principals committee to keep an eye on Flynn and to “deoperationalise” the NSC after the Obama administration, this official said on condition of anonymity to discuss internal dynamics. This official said that process had been completed.
The shift was orchestrated by Lt. Gen. HR McMaster, who was tapped as Trump’s national security adviser after the resignation of Michael T Flynn, who stepped down in February after being caught misleading Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador.
General McMaster inherited an organisational scheme for the National Security Council that stirred protests because of Bannon’s role. The original setup made Bannon, the former chairman of Breitbart News, a member of the principals committee that typically includes cabinet-level officials like the vice president, secretary of state and defence secretary. The original order also made the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence only occasional participants as issues demanded.
A new order issued by Trump, dated Tuesday and made public on Wednesday, removes Bannon from the principals committee, restores the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and intelligence director and also adds the energy secretary, CIA director and United Nations ambassador.
A senior White House official presented the move as a logical evolution, not a setback for Bannon. He had originally been put on the principals committee to keep an eye on Flynn and to “deoperationalise” the NSC after the Obama administration, this official said on condition of anonymity to discuss internal dynamics. This official said that process had been completed.
