Steve Bannon Is Removed From the National Security Council

Steve Bannon at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. (Gage Skidmore / CC 2.0)

Steve Bannon, President Trump’s chief strategist, has been removed from the National Security Council, according to a report from Bloomberg. The move comes just months after Trump reorganized the council to include Bannon as a permanent member.

Bloomberg reports:

President Donald Trump reorganized his National Security Council on Wednesday, removing chief strategist Stephen Bannon from a key committee and restoring the roles of top intelligence and defense officials, according to a person familiar with the decision and a notice published in the Federal Register.

The realignment increases the influence of National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, whose public stances were sometimes at odds of those of Bannon. In addition to gaining greater control over the NSC, McMaster will have the Homeland Security Council under his authority.

The change downgrades the role of Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert, who had been given authority to convene or chair the NSC’s principals committee under Trump’s original structure. He’ll serve those roles now as delegated by McMaster, according to a presidential memorandum dated Tuesday.

The national intelligence director, Dan Coats, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, are again “regular attendees” of the principals committee, as in the Obama administration. Trump downgraded their roles and put Bannon on the committee in a Jan. 28 memorandum.

Read the full report here.

—Posted by Emma Niles