PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2017-01-31 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Does Steve Bannon Need a Senate Confirmation Hearing to Sit on the NSC? (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • On 30 January 2017, PalmerReport.com published a story that said President Donald Trump could not place his top strategist, Steve Bannon, on the National Security Council Principals committee without a Senate confirmation hearing. The post came after the White House brought on a storm of controversy by removing ranking military and intelligence officials from the committee and placing Bannon (a controversial political operative) on it instead: Alter did write a breaking news tweet citing a law that dictates the make-up of the National Security Council. While the law lays out the National Security Council's (NSC) structure, it does not dictate who may sit on the Principals committee; in fact, it doesn't mention the committee at all. The NSC was formed in 1947 (described as a Cabinet-level group of agencies focused on national security) while the Principals committee was established by President George H. W. Bush in 1989. Traditionally the committee has been apolitical, consisting of members who are senior military and intelligence personnel: While placing Bannon on the NSC has no doubt been controversial, Harvard Law Professor Larry Tribe said there is no reason to believe Bannon needs to go before the Senate first, telling us in an e-mail that: President Trump's memorandum both adds Bannon (the chief strategist) to the Principals committee and designates him an invitee to any NSC meeting: Jordan Brunner notes in LawFareBlog that the wording is important in determining whether Bannon needs a Senate confirmation hearing or not: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the precedent for including political operatives on the NSC committee was set by President Barack Obama, when he put Bannon's counterpart, David Axelrod, on the committee. Axelrod countered that he was an observer, not a formal member of the Principals committee, unlike Bannon: It appears unlikely that Bannon needs to be confirmed by the Senate to sit on the Principals committee of the National Security Council or attend meetings as an invitee — but what is clear is that President Trump's reshuffling of the body has stirred controversy and is in many ways unprecedented. The announcement caused former National Security Advisor Susan Rice to tweet it was stone cold crazy. Tribe said Bannon's role is crazy and dangerous, but it doesn't seem to violate any law, though it probably should. Per CNN Politics: On 30 January 2017, after a media firestorm, the White House announced President Trump will reinstate the CIA director as a regular Principals committee member, while still keeping Bannon on board. Meanwhile, the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will still not be regular attendees but will attend when issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url