Trump removes Steve Bannon from National Security Council

White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. Picture: AP

A new memorandum about the composition of the NSC was published in the Federal Register yesterday.

The memo no longer lists the chief strategist as a member of the principals committee, a group of high-ranking officials that convene to discuss pressing national security priorities.

The new memo also restores the director of national intelligence and the Joint Chiefs chairman to the principals committee.

Mr Bannon’s addition to the NSC sparked concerns from Trump critics, who said it was inappropriate for the political adviser to play a role on national security matters.

Tom Bossert, the assistant to the president for homeland security and counter-terrorism, also had his role downgraded as part of the changes.

A senior White House official said that Mr Bannon was initially placed on the National Security Council after Mr Trump’s inauguration as a measure to ensure the implementation of the president’s vision, including efforts to downsize and streamline operations at the NSC.

Mr Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was at the helm of the NSC at the time, but the official said Mr Bannon’s role on the committee had nothing to do with the troubles facing Mr Flynn, who was later asked to resign for misleading the administration about his communication with Russian officials.

Mr Flynn’s replacement, Lt Gen HR McMaster, was given free rein to reorganise the NSC as he saw fit.

Lt Gen McMaster immediately expressed a desire to run a less hierarchical organisation and be more accessible to his staff, something that created widespread frustration when Mr Flynn was in charge, according to administration officials familiar with the changes.

As a participant of the principals committee, Mr Bannon had the authority to call a vote if the president’s vision for the NSC was not being implemented. The committee, which includes top officials from various government agencies, meets regularly to address important policy issues.

The White House official said Mr Bannon’s removal from the NSC was not a reflection of any change in his standing as one of Mr Trump’s closest advisers.

Mr Bannon will maintain his security clearance as is standard for most top West Wing officials.

Mr Trump’s White House is facing allegations that it funnelled secret intelligence reports to a Republican congressman leading an investigation into his campaign’s possible ties to Russian officials as well as Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election.

The New York Times last week identified two NSC officials as having helped House intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes view secret reports.