White House chief of staff Reince Priebus denied on Sunday that Donald Trump had removed two top defense officials from regular seats on the National Security Council in a reshuffle that expanded the influence of senior adviser Steve Bannon. Trump gives National Security Council seat to ex-Breitbart chief Steve Bannon Read moreOn Saturday, Trump signed a memorandum that gave Bannon a seat on the “principals committee” of cabinet members who shape US foreign and defense policy. On Sunday, Priebus said the defense chiefs would in fact be invited to all meetings. Former defense secretary Robert Gates, who served both Republican and Democratic presidents, told ABC’s This Week on Sunday that the relegation for the defense chiefs was a “big mistake”. “I think pushing them out of the National Security Council meetings, except when their specific issues are at stake, is a big mistake.

Source: The Guardian January 29, 2017 21:56 UTC