Steve Bannon, Trump's Chief Strategist, Removed From National Security Council

WASHINGTON, DC — Steven Bannon, the former executive of Breitbart News and the chief strategist for President Trump, will no longer serve on the National Security Council. Bannon's appointment to the NSC was deeply controversial, because critics argued it was inappropriate for a political adviser to have a significant position in a national security body. Bannon has come to symbolize much of the ideology that the president's opponents reject as a figurehead in part of the nebulous and ill-defined movement of the so-called "alt-right," which encompasses nationalist and white supremacist ideologies.

As a part of the shake-up, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster was given greater power to control the direction of NSC meetings. In a statement, Bannon said, "Susan Rice operationalized the NSC during the last administration so I was put on NSC to ensure it was 'de-operationalized.' General McMaster has NSC back to its proper function."

Bannon did not explain what "operationalized" means in this context. Patch asked for clarification on the term but has not received a reply. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Bloomberg was the first site to break the news.

"White nationalists don’t belong on the National Security Council," Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, in response to the move. "They also don’t belong in the White House. "

Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued a statement on the reports: "On January 28, President Trump reorganized the NSC to let Steve Bannon serve on the principals committee—a role he was wholly unqualified for—and now the President reportedly has removed him. We need to know what in the world is going on."

He continued: "One key question is whether Mr. Bannon was involved in any way with the dealings between NSC staffers and Chairman Nunes or his trip to the White House. We asked the White House to tell us by this Friday whether National Security Advisor McMaster or White House Counsel McGahn was personally aware of these activities and whether anyone else at the White House was involved."

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