04-05-2017, 03:28 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-05-2017, 03:29 PM by Eric the Green.)
(04-05-2017, 11:12 AM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: Bannon has been demoted (but not fired .... yet).
Stephen Bannon removed from National Security Council
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post...9944304eb8
President Trump on Wednesday removed controversial White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon from the National Security Council, part of a sweeping staff reshuffling that elevated key military and intelligence officials to greater roles on the council and left Bannon far less involved in shaping the administration’s day-to-day national security policy.
The restructuring reflects the growing influence of national security adviser H.R. McMaster, an Army three-star general, who took over the post after retired general Michael Flynn was ousted in February and is increasingly asserting himself over the flow of national security information in the White House.
The new order establishing the structure of the council, which was published in the federal registry, puts McMaster in overall charge of the both the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council headed by homeland security adviser Tom Bossert. Trump’s original order had placed the NSC and HSC on equal footing, with McMaster and Bossert as coequals who could convene and chair meetings of principals and set agendas. Now, Bossert can call and chair meetings only “at the sole discretion” of McMaster, according to the order.
Even as Bannon has been removed from the list, invitees to principals and deputies meetings now also include the deputy national security adviser for strategy. The post is currently held by Dina Powell, an Egyptian-born former national security official in the Bush administration and a Goldman Sachs official whose influence within the West Wing has expanded rapidly.
McMaster has become a rising and blunt force within the White House who has made clear to several top officials and the president that he does not want the NSC to have any political elements and while he understood Bannon’s role, he believed it was not necessary for the president to have him there as the NSC was reorganized under McMaster's leadership.
The move followed days of discussions with top aides, including Bannon, about the scope of the adviser’s role moving forward and it reflects McMaster's more complete takeover of the council and its operations, according to five officials familiar with the decision.
Two senior White House officials said Bannon’s departure was in no way a demotion and that he had rarely attended meetings since being placed on the council..............