Trump removes Bannon from National Security Council
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has removed chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council, reversing a controversial decision to give Mr. Bannon access to the group’s highlevel meetings.
A memorandum about the council’s composition was published Wednesday in the Federal Register. The memo no longer lists the chief strategist as a member of the Principals Committee, a group of officials who meet to discuss national security priorities.
The new NSC lineup now includes Rick Perry, putting the secretary of energy and former Texas governor into Mr. Trump’s inner circle for national security decisions.
A senior White House official said Mr. Bannon — former head of the far-right website Breitbart News — was placed on the National Security Council after Mr. Trump’s inauguration to ensure implementation of the president’s vision, including efforts to downsize and streamline operations at the NSC. Mr. Bannon’s addition to the NSC sparked criticism that it was inappropriate for the political adviser to play a role in national security matters.
Mr. Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was heading the NSC at the time, but the official said Mr. Bannon’s role had nothing to do with the troubles facing Mr. Flynn, who was asked to resign in February for misleading the administration about his communications with Russian officials.
A senior administration official said Mr. Flynn reluctantly agreed to have Mr. Bannon join the NSC, a move reflecting Mr. Trump’s dwindling faith in his national security adviser. The restructuring also was seen as reflecting the growing influence of Mr. Flynn’s replacement, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who was allowed to reorganize the NSC as he saw fit.
Gen. McMaster has expressed a desire to run a less hierarchical organization free of any political elements and be more accessible to his staff.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence dismissed the idea that the changes reflect a demotion. Trump associates described Mr. Bannon as overstretched within the White House and said the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, has been paying attention to how to better utilize Mr. Bannon’s skills as the administration works to recover from a rocky first few months.