This move is really interesting to me. I thought the Chairman and DNI were natural parts of the NSC. I can kind of see the Chairman getting relegated to the kids' table if the SECDEF is still on the NSC, but the DNI? Wow. The DNI's power over important parts of the IC comes solely from access to the President. DNI has all of the responsibility and none of the real authority to run the IC. And now the position has even less.
I thought the same thing, will be interesting to see how things shake out as organizations vie for influence. Although this, like most of the administration's moves, is not good government in my opinion I think in some ways it's better than the alternative.
I mean, I don't like those moves because I don't think these are the people that should be running the government - but we had an election that decided things and it didn't go my way, so that part is done. My understanding is the NSC is a filter to recommend national security action to the President. I think it's good to have the people in the NSC the President is actually going to listen to. In some ways it almost makes the government more transparent. The President is essentially saying 'look, here are the people I trust to look at national security information from across the spectrum and recommend policy to me.' I contrast that with the GW Bush administration where there was rampant speculation - in and out of government - that the NSC was not where he was going for his most influential policy recommendations. Instead, they were coming from meetings outside the NSC with the VP, the SECDEF, and Karl Rove as the most influential members of that cabal.
I think Steve Bannon seems like a super-smart dude who believes a bunch of shit that's anathema to what I believe. But, at least the President will be straight up about the fact that he's listening to him on national security and whatever else. I always thought it was fucked up in the GW Bush administration how Douglas Feith and Paul Wolfowitz and others would take the position after things went to shit that they were just a part of ongoing Pentagon planning and it was a team effort and they were just as surprised as everybody else - when they had been driving the process, then hid behind the institutions when it was convenient.
For the same reason I actually support President Trump's family getting security clearances and jobs in the white house regardless of nepotism charges. If that's who the President is going to listen to I'd rather them be able to have access to as much classified as possible - and to protect that classified to the best of our ability. The alternative is he's hitting them up on the landline or family dinner for the same thing. One thing I would think both sides would agree on President Trump isn't going to do something just because people told him 'those are the rules.'
I wish President Trump hadn't gotten elected, I think he's doing a terrible job, but I'd like him to have as many tools as possible to do as good a job as can be done. I'd much rather begrudgingly watch him go from success to success for the country than watch the place burn to the ground and be able to say 'I told you so.'
