A letter that 169 congressional Democrats sent Wednesday to President-elect Donald Trump calls on him to fire Steve Bannon, his former campaign CEO who he recently appointed to be his chief strategist and senior advisor in the White House.
The letter, spearheaded by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) and signed by a vast majority of congressional Democrats, cites Bannon’s claim in July that Breitbart News had become “the platform of the alt-right” and says his “ties to the White Nationalist movement” make him unfit to be the President-elect’s top advisor.
“Disturbingly, leading white supremacists like former KKK Grand Dragon David Duke, American Nazi Party Chairman Rocky J. Suhadya, Richard Spencer, Peter Brimelow, and Brad Griffin have praised the news of Mr. Bannon’s appointment,” the letter reads. “We believe it should concern you that civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, are widely opposed to Mr. Bannon’s appointment.”
The letter also contrasts Trump’s early commitments, which he reiterated in his Election Night victory speech, to “bind the wounds of division” and “come together as one united people.”
“We strongly believe that Mr. Bannon’s appointment will not allow the country to heal and come together as one,” it says. “As one of your top advisors, the White House chief strategist will help set the tone for your administration. The person in the role must be prepared to serve the interests of all Americans, not those of a select few.”
