Trump Added Rick Perry To The National Security Council In The Same Shakeup That Removed Steve Bannon

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Some people breathed a sigh of relief after this morning’s announcement of Donald Trump removing Steve Bannon from the National Security Council as part of a shakeup. Bannon will keep his chief strategist job, but the White House’s (strange) rationale is that he was was intended as a “check on Mike Flynn,” and since Flynn’s outta there, Bannon’s services are no longer needed. Further, the formerly downgraded members were regranted regular attendance at meetings, so it seemed that order was being restored to the NSC. Yet perhaps that’s not entirely the case, for Trump has also decided to add Energy Secretary Rick Perry to the mix.

As of now, Perry isn’t being added as a member who’s allowed to attend all meetings. Rather, he’ll only pop in for meetings that are relevant to his own job duties — discussions of nukes? — but this is still a noteworthy move in what amounts to a major NSC reorganization. Here’s a handy chart that lists the changes, courtesy of NPR’s Tamara Keith.

The White House hasn’t issued an official comment about Perry’s ascension to the NSC. It makes sense to have someone in his role attend meetings, but Perry himself may still inspire hesitation. After all, he’s still the same dude who previously wanted to abolish the Department of Energy while forgetting what it was called. We haven’t seen much indication of what Perry shall accomplish while running his new joint, so until then, all of the Dancing With The Stars jokes will continue to ride high. Actually, they may never go away.

(Via NPR)

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