WASHINGTON ¨C White House officials defended President Donald Trump¡¯s move to give top political strategist Stephen Bannon a permanent spot on the National Security Council while limiting the role of the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
¡°We are instilling reforms to make sure that we streamline the process for the president to make decisions on key, important intelligence matters,¡± White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Sunday on ABC¡¯s ¡°This Week.¡±
In a presidential memorandum issued Saturday, Bannon, 63, a former executive at Breitbart News, was given a permanent spot on the NSC¡¯s principals committee, the senior-level interagency group that considers major national security policy issues. Others with permanent seats on the White House policy council include the secretary of state and secretary of defense.
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