Joint Chiefs, Intel Chief Out of NSC Meeting, Bannon Joins

White House Chief Strategist and Chief Counsel Steve Bannon has been given a seat on the principals committee of the National Security Council, a move putting him inside meetings with the secretaries of defense and state, The Washington Post reports. 

President Donald Trump in a presidential memo Saturday reorganized the council to include Bannon, who was a businessman and media executive prior to joining Trump's presidential campaign as its manager. 

The memo also includes another big change. The director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will sit on the principals committee only when the issues discussed pertain to their "responsibilities and expertise."

Both positions sat in on the committee in the Obama and Bush administrations. 

Trump said of the changes: It will bring "a lot of efficiency and, I think, a lot of additional safety."

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