Donald J. Bannon is Running the White House
From as early as Inauguration day, allegations have rocked the Trump administration that there is a “man behind the curtain” running the show for President Donald Trump. Of course, this person is thought to be Steve Bannon, who is now the assistant to the president, not to mention the White House chief strategist. So who is Steve Bannon and how did he end up in such a powerful position?
From Conservative Website Editor to the White House
Before becoming the President's adviser, Bannon was the main driving force behind Breitbart News, a massively popular right-wing website opposed to immigration and many other liberal causes. His ascendancy to this position can be traced back to a satellite show that he did in November 2015. On that show, he hosted Montana Representative Ryan Zinke, who opposed President Obama’s plan to resettle Syrian refugees in the United States.
In the interview, Mr. Zinke stated that the resettlement plan should be put on hold until the government could find a way to vet all refugees. Bannon countered by asking why they should be let into the Unites States at all and also questioned whether the money being spends on the resettlement plan couldn't be used to benefit the United States instead.
It is from this show that we can start to see the link between Steve Bannon and one of the most controversial actions taken by President Trump in the first few weeks in office. Such actions include banning the entry of people from seven Muslim-majority nations to the United States for 90 days.
Additionally, there was the suspension of the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days. There was a reinstatement of the Refugee program for nations whose citizens the United States can verify and have been properly vetted. From his past statements, many believe that Bannon was behind the ban, a theory which has been more-or-less verified by sources within the White House.
Bannon Makes Strategic Moves in the White House
By assisting with the drafting of these executive orders, Bannon helped President Trump keep a campaign promise that was partly responsible for the larger election victory. By placing himself in this position, Bannon has been able to steer the President towards his campaign promises while sprinkling in some of his own.
During the flurry of activity that saw Trump shake up his National Security Council, Bannon was able to add his name to the list, placing himself at the highest table as far as national security is concerned. From this position, he can make decisions that directly influence the country, the reach of which can only be understood when you keep in mind that he is the white house chief strategist.
Being at the center of power in the White House, Steve Bannon is in the right position to ensure his ideas become policy. This can be seen from the way he has helped direct and shape some of Trump's biggest decisions. Some of which include, the withdrawal from major trade pacts, the temporary ban on new refugees, and of course the ban on visitors from a list of seven Muslim countries.
Being the white house chief strategist and having the ear of the President means that Bannon is in a prime position to run things. This leads some people to allude that he is indeed the one running the white house and, by extension, the country.
But Is it Rosy in the White House?
Around the time that the justice department was trying to sort out the mess that was caused by the immigration executive order, Sally Yates, the Acting Attorney General at the time, was fired. This following information that she ordered the justice department’s lawyers not to defend the ban in court because she saw it as discriminatory.
President Trump chose Jeff Sessions as her replacement. This choice and the eventual roll-out of Trump’s new Attorney General was done by the White House counsel’s office. This office is seen as an island in the White House since it stands alone and far from the influence of Bannon and those who support him. This office is run by Reince Priebus, who is Trump’s current chief of staff and the former chairman of the Republican Party.
The actions of Trump and the White House counsel’s office in choosing and confirming a judge who is a populist and who is outside the influence of Steve Bannon might point to the fact that Steve Bannon may not have as much control as people think he does.
Yes, he does have the ear of the President as his assistant and white house strategist, but there could be some tension. The Trump administration is seemingly managed by two camps: those who want to go with the right -wing agenda that Trump set in his campaign and those that want to run the country in a different way.
It is still early days in the President Trump administration. But sure enough, we should keep an eye on Steve Bannon and his possible influence in the White House.