WASHINGTON – Trump senior adviser Steve Bannon has been removed as a permanent member of the National Security Council, a senior White House official confirmed Wednesday.The Trump administration received early criticism for appointing Bannon to the foreign policy post, whose credentials include chairman of Brietbart News and seven years of military service as a junior Naval officer. The White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bannon’s presence on the NSC was no longer needed after the departure of Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Flynn resigned in February over his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kisylak, prior to Trump’s inauguration.The official said Bannon had been placed on the NSC originally as a check on Flynn and had only ever attended one of the NSC’s regular meetings.The change appears to signify White House confidence in new national security adviser H.R. McMaster.Reuters News Service contributed to this report.
