Trump didn’t know he was giving Bannon so much power until after adding him to security council: report

Sarah K. Burris
06 Feb 2017 at 08:08 ET

Steve Bannon (Photo: Screen capture)

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Last week it was revealed that senior advisor to Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, was being elevated to “principal” on the National Security Council while others were being “downgraded.”

While Bannon was stealing the spotlight, it turns out that Trump didn’t know the action was being taken. A report from the New York Times revealed that Trump complained that no one told him what his executive order entailed and had no idea it would grant such significant power to Bannon. Only later did Trump learn about the significance. The order was an unprecedented, adding a non-military, political advisor to a board of military experts that advise the president on the nation’s security.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus expressed concern about the lack of checks on both Bannon and senior advisor Stephen Miller. He even drafted a 10-part checklist of steps and approvals for executive orders to be reviewed before they’re signed. This order didn’t go through that list.

Bannon’s profile has exploded over the past few months as the internet began calling him President Bannon and TIME magazine revealed his apocalyptic views about the future.

The New York Times also printed an op-ed from Admiral Mike Mullen, who served on the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

“Bannon doesn’t belong there,” Mullen said of the promotion. “In my experience, there are very few — if any — meetings of the principals committee at which the input of the military and the intelligence community is not vital.”

He went on to say that the elevation is “troubling” and “worrisome enough,” but worse is “institutionalizing [Bannon’s) attendance” which he believes “threatens to politicize national security decision making.”