Bannon Wants a War on Washington. Now He’s Part of One Inside the White House.

By Ashley Parker, Robert Costa and Abby Phillip. Stephen K. Bannon — the combative architect of the nationalistic strategy that delivered President Trump to the White House — now finds himself losing ground in an internecine battle within the West Wing that pits the “Bannonites” against a growing and powerful faction of centrist financiers led by the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Less than 100 days into Trump’s chaotic presidency, the White House is splintering over policy issues ranging from taxes to trade. The daily tumult has created an atmosphere of tension and panic around the president, leaving aides fearing for their jobs and cleaving former allies into rivals sniping at one another in the media.

The infighting spilled into full view this week after Trump removed Bannon from the National Security Council’s “principals committee,” a reshuffling that left the president’s chief strategist less fully involved in the administration’s daily national security policy while further empowering Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, Trump’s new national security adviser. (Read more from “Bannon Wants a War on Washington. Now He’s Part of One Inside the White House.” HERE)

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Pence: Bannon’s Removal From National Security Council Part of ‘Routine Evolution’ of National Security Team

By Melanie Arter. Vice President Mike Pence, in an interview with Fox News’s “The First 100 Days,” said Wednesday that White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s removal from the National Security Council “represents a very routine evolution of the national security team around the president.”

“With H.R. McMaster as our national security adviser, I think the president’s action, adding the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, adding the director of national intelligence, and moving a couple of our senior personnel off the National Security Council just simply represents a very routine evolution of the National Security team around the president,” Pence told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum.

Bannon was part of the Principals Committee, “a group of high-ranking officials who meet to discuss pressing important national security priorities,” the Associated Press reported.

Tom Bossert, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, “also had his role downgraded as part of the changes,” according to the AP.

Pence said the move is not a demotion for Bannon. (Read more from “Pence: Bannon’s Removal From National Security Council Part of ‘Routine Evolution’ of National Security Team” HERE)

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