Concerned about White House infighting, Trump eyes shake-up

The move was widely seen as an indication of Bannon’s waning influence in the White House, though Bannon immediately disputed that notion.

“Reince had the two sit down with him to clear the air and agree on the agenda and ending the back and forth”, a White House official told CBS News. And it doesn’t look like it will be the president’s son in law.

The timing of potential Priebus and Bannon exits, as well as who would replace them if they departed the White House, was unclear from the reports.

In the middle is Mr. Trump himself, seemingly torn between the two factions, tilting one way or the other depending on the day, or even the hour, while he seeks to recapture momentum after a series of defeats in Congress and the courts. He has told people if it doesn’t get better, he will take action – though he hasn’t detailed precisely what his moves might entail.

At other points, he has been dismissive of Mr. Bannon, curtly telling him he is not needed at this meeting or that.

But while the National Security Council had a powerful role in the past when it came to making policy recommendations to the president, Trump had relied until now on his own close team of advisers, leading to Bannon’s appointment to the NSC’s principals committee.

“The only thing we are shaking up is the way Washington operates as we push the President’s aggressive agenda forward”, Huckabee Sanders said.

But there have been signs lately that Bannon is losing power within the White House inner circle.

Mr Bannon, former chief of conservative news organisation Breitbart News, has been at odds with Mr Kushner and Gary Cohn, the head of the White House National Economic Council, an administration official and the four former advisers said.

That includes reports of widening rifts between Bannon and senior adviser Jared Kushner, news that Trump is increasingly unhappy with Bannon, reports of looming staff shake-ups in the White House, and above all, the chief strategist’s removal from his post on the National Security Council.

“If Bannon is pushed out it will be open warfare from the outside in”, Bardella warned. Some are suggesting Bannon is ready to walk rather than accept a position with less influence. That group includes Kushner, who has emerged as a troubleshooter for the president and has clashed with Bannon.

The New York Times first reported the omissions, including meetings with the Russian ambassador to the USA and the head of a Russian bank owned by the Kremlin. Earlier in the week, there were numerous reports that Bannon was this close to leaving. He was compelled to stay by Republican donor Rebekah Mercer, according to the report.

Trump purportedly told the pair to “work this out” amid repeated policy disagreements between them – a recurring media narrative.