Chief Strategist Steve Bannon Is Out Of The White House
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- President Trump has agreed to let go of White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.
The move follows weeks of speculation that he would not last much longer in the administration.
Bannon helped put President Donald Trump in the White House and now he is out.
The president's press secretary issued a statement saying, "White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve's last day. We are grateful for his service and wish him the best."
Speculation about Bannon's future had been brewing for a while. Earlier this week, President Trump was non-committal about Bannon's future.
"I like Mr. Bannon. He's a friend of mine, but Mr. Bannon came on very late, you know that. I went through 17 Senators, governors, and I won all the primaries. Mr. Bannon came on very much later than that," said Trump. "But we'll see what happens with Mr. Bannon."
Sources told CBS News that new Chief of Staff John Kelly was eager to clear out what he considered internal West Wing rivalries. Bannon is said to have had the president's ear and he used that influence to sway policy decisions.
Bannon had reportedly clashed for months with other Trump advisers including the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.
Bannon made a name for himself running breitbart.com - a conservative website that catered to the alt-right. He's advised the president to take nationalist strategies such as proposing a trade war with China.
President Trump is still considering Bannon's plan to send private contractors to Afghanistan instead of U.S. soldiers. He traveled to Camp David Friday to discuss whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan or withdraw completely.
"We are coming very close to a decision and I anticipate it in the very near future," said Dept. of Defense Secretary James Mattis.
Bannon is now the eighth senior White House official let go since President Trump took office in January.
Even knowing his job was in jeopardy, Bannon gave two interviews this week where he complained about people within the White House by name, including Gary Cohn, the National Economic Council director. He also publicly contradicted the administration's stance on North Korea saying a military solution isn't feasible.
