White House Defends Bannon’s Newly-Granted NatSec Council Membership

Stephen Bannon, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign chairman, attends Trump's Hispanic advisory roundtable meeting in New York, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Sunday said the addition of President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, to regular meetings of the country’s top national security officials was essential to the commander in chief’s decision-making process.

Trump took steps Saturday to begin restructuring the White House National Security Council, adding the senior adviser to the principals committee, which includes the secretaries of state and defense. At the same time, Trump said his director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would attend “where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed.”

Bannon served in the Navy before attending Harvard Business School, working at Goldman Sachs, starting his own media-focused boutique investment banking firm and later heading the ultraconservative outlet Breitbart News, which has been condemned for featuring racist, sexist and anti-Semitic content.

“He is a former naval officer. He’s got a tremendous understanding of the world and the geopolitical landscape that we have now,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told ABC’s “This Week.”

Spicer said “having the chief strategist for the president in those meetings who has a significant military background to help make — guide what the president’s final analysis is going to be is crucial.”

But to Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, the NSC “sadly has some really questionable people on it,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” citing Bannon among them.

And Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called Bannon’s appointment “a radical departure from any National Security Council in history.”

He told “Face the Nation” on CBS: “The role of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has been diminished, I understand, with this reorganization. One person who is indispensable would be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in my view. So, it’s of concern, this ‘reorganization.'”

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Latest News
56
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. What could possibly go wrong?

  2. Makes perfect sense if you assume that they are planning on issuing a presidential directive declaring Martial Law sometime in our future.

  3. And Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called Bannon’s appointment “a radical departure from any National Security Council in history.”

    Thanks for sharing. I forever patiently await with bated breath to hear the visionary words of a true patriot treasonous bastard who sold out his country “for the good of the party.”

    As always …

    Fuck You, Sid McCrashcup!

    (It’s not that I hate the guy. Okay, yes it is.)

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

50 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for frasca Avatar for ajm Avatar for jootjoint Avatar for daveminnj Avatar for ccleis Avatar for jloomis3 Avatar for labman57 Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for tomanjeri Avatar for stradivarius50t3 Avatar for pippenpippen Avatar for iheartkasich Avatar for thomasmatthew Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for tena Avatar for clauscph Avatar for caltg Avatar for j_from_texas Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for lkeitherz Avatar for krux Avatar for redhand Avatar for eisenst

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: