On the recordJanuary 30, 2017
on Friday, the President reshuffled the National Security Council to remove permanent postings for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence and installed a permanent seat for White House Political Adviser Steve Bannon. It is a disturbing and profound departure from past administrations. On the most sensitive matters of national security, the President should be relying on the informed counsel of members of the military and intelligence agencies, not political advisers who made their careers promoting a White nationalist Web site. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the President's primary military adviser, and his voice, along with that of the Director of National Intelligence, are the only independent, apolitical voices. President Trump's move to strip them of their seats is baffling. It endangers our national security and is contrary to the spirit and intent of the National Security Act. This morning, Gen. Michael Hayden--I can't think of a more respected general and intelligence leader. He has served bipartisanly, the Clinton, Bush, Obama administrations. He said that the move--and these are his words, not mine, General Hayden's--``puts ideology at the center over the professional kind of information that the DNI and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs bring to the party.'' That is a deeply disturbing thought.…
