'Unprecedented': Trump Adds Bannon to National Security Council, Kicks Out Intelligence Officials
'To reiterate, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been removed from the National Security Council and replaced with a white nationalist. Worry.'
President Donald Trump signed memorandums on Saturday that kicked the nation's top military and intelligence advisers off the National Security Council's (NSC) Principals Committee and elevated his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, in their place.
The memorandum gives Bannon, former executive chair of the rightwing website Breitbart News, a regular seat at some of the most sensitive meetings at the highest levels of government, along with other NSC meetings.
The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff--who need to be confirmed by the Senate--will now only attend the meetings when discussions pertain to their "responsibilities and expertise," the memo states.
"This is unusual," writes John Bellinger at Lawfare Blog. "[T]he NSC function usually does not include participants from the political side of the White House."
Under former President George W. Bush, for example, Karl Rove did not attend NSC meetings, Bellinger noted. "According to former Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, President Bush did not want to appear, especially to the military, to insert domestic politics into national security decisionmaking."
Additionally, while Bannon has been granted this privileged access, CIA director Mike Pompeo has not--another break with tradition, Bellinger wrote.
Both Bush and former President Barack Obama gave the DNI and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regular seats on their councils.
Bellinger notes other irregularities:
The NSC executive secretary (General Keith Kellogg) "shall" attend all Principals Committee and Deputies Committee meetings. This is also unusual. The executive secretary in the Bush administration was generally too busy and did not attend NSC or PC meetings.
[....] The Deputies Committee will have at least 14 regularly invited participants and potentially 19 or more. This will be unwieldy.
CNN national security correspondent Jim Sciutto called Bannon's placement on the committee "unprecedented."
"You're putting in someone who is not Senate confirmed and taking out the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence, who need to be Senate confirmed," Sciutto told CNN's Jake Tapper. "It raises questions about whose voices will be most prominent about key national-security decisions in the country."
Former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates likewise told ABC on Sunday that excluding the DNI and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was "a big mistake."
"Under law, there are only two statutory advisers to the National Security Council--the DNI, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Gates said. "Pushing them out [is] a big mistake. They both bring perspective, judgment, and experience to bear that every president--whether they like it or not--finds useful."
MSNBC's Joy Reid summed it up thus: "To reiterate, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been removed from the National Security Council and replaced with a white nationalist. Worry."
The memo was issued amid a second series of executive orders in Trump's first full week in office, including ordering the Pentagon to devise a plan in 30 days to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS). The president also held several calls with foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Bannon joined Trump for all of those calls.
The move also affirms Bannon's rise just after Trump echoed the strategist's recent comments that the media is "the opposition party."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
President Donald Trump signed memorandums on Saturday that kicked the nation's top military and intelligence advisers off the National Security Council's (NSC) Principals Committee and elevated his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, in their place.
The memorandum gives Bannon, former executive chair of the rightwing website Breitbart News, a regular seat at some of the most sensitive meetings at the highest levels of government, along with other NSC meetings.
The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff--who need to be confirmed by the Senate--will now only attend the meetings when discussions pertain to their "responsibilities and expertise," the memo states.
"This is unusual," writes John Bellinger at Lawfare Blog. "[T]he NSC function usually does not include participants from the political side of the White House."
Under former President George W. Bush, for example, Karl Rove did not attend NSC meetings, Bellinger noted. "According to former Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, President Bush did not want to appear, especially to the military, to insert domestic politics into national security decisionmaking."
Additionally, while Bannon has been granted this privileged access, CIA director Mike Pompeo has not--another break with tradition, Bellinger wrote.
Both Bush and former President Barack Obama gave the DNI and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regular seats on their councils.
Bellinger notes other irregularities:
The NSC executive secretary (General Keith Kellogg) "shall" attend all Principals Committee and Deputies Committee meetings. This is also unusual. The executive secretary in the Bush administration was generally too busy and did not attend NSC or PC meetings.
[....] The Deputies Committee will have at least 14 regularly invited participants and potentially 19 or more. This will be unwieldy.
CNN national security correspondent Jim Sciutto called Bannon's placement on the committee "unprecedented."
"You're putting in someone who is not Senate confirmed and taking out the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence, who need to be Senate confirmed," Sciutto told CNN's Jake Tapper. "It raises questions about whose voices will be most prominent about key national-security decisions in the country."
Former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates likewise told ABC on Sunday that excluding the DNI and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was "a big mistake."
"Under law, there are only two statutory advisers to the National Security Council--the DNI, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Gates said. "Pushing them out [is] a big mistake. They both bring perspective, judgment, and experience to bear that every president--whether they like it or not--finds useful."
MSNBC's Joy Reid summed it up thus: "To reiterate, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been removed from the National Security Council and replaced with a white nationalist. Worry."
The memo was issued amid a second series of executive orders in Trump's first full week in office, including ordering the Pentagon to devise a plan in 30 days to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS). The president also held several calls with foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Bannon joined Trump for all of those calls.
The move also affirms Bannon's rise just after Trump echoed the strategist's recent comments that the media is "the opposition party."
President Donald Trump signed memorandums on Saturday that kicked the nation's top military and intelligence advisers off the National Security Council's (NSC) Principals Committee and elevated his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, in their place.
The memorandum gives Bannon, former executive chair of the rightwing website Breitbart News, a regular seat at some of the most sensitive meetings at the highest levels of government, along with other NSC meetings.
The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff--who need to be confirmed by the Senate--will now only attend the meetings when discussions pertain to their "responsibilities and expertise," the memo states.
"This is unusual," writes John Bellinger at Lawfare Blog. "[T]he NSC function usually does not include participants from the political side of the White House."
Under former President George W. Bush, for example, Karl Rove did not attend NSC meetings, Bellinger noted. "According to former Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, President Bush did not want to appear, especially to the military, to insert domestic politics into national security decisionmaking."
Additionally, while Bannon has been granted this privileged access, CIA director Mike Pompeo has not--another break with tradition, Bellinger wrote.
Both Bush and former President Barack Obama gave the DNI and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regular seats on their councils.
Bellinger notes other irregularities:
The NSC executive secretary (General Keith Kellogg) "shall" attend all Principals Committee and Deputies Committee meetings. This is also unusual. The executive secretary in the Bush administration was generally too busy and did not attend NSC or PC meetings.
[....] The Deputies Committee will have at least 14 regularly invited participants and potentially 19 or more. This will be unwieldy.
CNN national security correspondent Jim Sciutto called Bannon's placement on the committee "unprecedented."
"You're putting in someone who is not Senate confirmed and taking out the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence, who need to be Senate confirmed," Sciutto told CNN's Jake Tapper. "It raises questions about whose voices will be most prominent about key national-security decisions in the country."
Former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates likewise told ABC on Sunday that excluding the DNI and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was "a big mistake."
"Under law, there are only two statutory advisers to the National Security Council--the DNI, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Gates said. "Pushing them out [is] a big mistake. They both bring perspective, judgment, and experience to bear that every president--whether they like it or not--finds useful."
MSNBC's Joy Reid summed it up thus: "To reiterate, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been removed from the National Security Council and replaced with a white nationalist. Worry."
The memo was issued amid a second series of executive orders in Trump's first full week in office, including ordering the Pentagon to devise a plan in 30 days to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS). The president also held several calls with foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Bannon joined Trump for all of those calls.
The move also affirms Bannon's rise just after Trump echoed the strategist's recent comments that the media is "the opposition party."