Chief White House strategist Steve Bannon has been removed from the list of the Principals Committee. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry takes his place.
Dan Coats, Director of National Intelligence and General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been added to the list.
Bannon's seat at the table was highly irregular from the get-go. The removal may be a response to the U.S. Intelligence Community pushing back at President's Trump's promise to "Drain the Swamp."
With over 250,000 jobs created since his presidency and a recent 46% approval rating, President Trump is unlikely worried about inferences the main-stream media will likely make out of this.
Trump is shaking up his administration. He is starting the changes by reorganizing his National Security Council ( NSC) and removing his chief strategist Steve Bannon from it. The role of Homeland Security Adviser, Tom Bossert, is also downgraded, said Bloomberg sources. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster will reportedly be now responsible for setting the agenda of the NSC meetings.
He also has the option of assigning such task to Bossert. National Intelligence director, Dan Coats, and the chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, can again regularly attend the NSC's principals committee. Bannon joined the NSC's principals committee at the start of President Trump's presidency. The move earned some criticisms from members of Congress and Washington's foreign policy establishment. They said Bannon did not have the crucial foreign policy experience.
Senior roles on the council were usually given to military officials. Bannon is the former executive chairman of right-wing alternative Breitbart News. A White House official shared that Bannon was put in the committee to monitor Mike Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser. He never attended a meeting. With Flynn out of the administration, the source said Bannon is no longer needed at the NSC since McMaster is in charge already. Flynn was fired by Trump,
The NSC is responsible for advising and assisting the president on national security and foreign policies.
