White House Counsel Steve Bannon has been removed from the National Security Council. This was decided by the American president Donald Trump who however left Bannon the position of his strategist. In January Trump had decided, with an unusual choice, to include Bannon in the National Security Council, alt-right guru and former editor of right-wing news site Breitbart, considered one of the architects of the billionaire's victory in the presidential elections. The unexpected reshuffle in the presidential administration also affected Internal Security adviser Tom Bossert, who was demoted.
The choice had been much criticized by Republicans and Democrats: they feared that Bannon, former head of Trump's electoral campaign, could politicize national security decisions. The issue was raised in January by a group of five Democratic House lawmakers, arguing that it was a "dangerous" choice for the United States. Bannon's removal marks a victory for General HR McMaster, who succeeded General Michael Flynn as National Security Advisor, who resigned on February 13 after being overwhelmed by Russiagate for lying to Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI about his illegal contacts with Russian Ambassador Serghey Klyaski .
