Democrats demand Trump remove Bannon from NSC

WASHINGTON — Two Jewish members of the US House of Representatives spearhead a letter by 50 House Democrats to President Donald Trump demanding the removal of Stephen Bannon from the National Security Council.

The letter sent Friday and initiated by Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, and Ted Deutch, D-Florida, decries the removal of the chairman of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence from the Council, and their replacement with Bannon, Trump’s chief political strategist, and Reince Priebus, his chief of staff.

The letter takes special issue with Bannon and his senior role on the NSC, however, noting his background prior to joining Trump’s campaign last summer helming Breitbart News. Bannon once described Breitbart News as a platform for the “alt-right,” a loose assemblage of anti-establishment groups that includes anti-Semites as well as strident defenders of Israel.

One unifying thrust of the alt-right has been its hostility to Islam, and the letter writers say that Bannon is an especially inappropriate choice as the United States confronts the Islamic State jihadist group.

“At a time when the United States is leading the fight against ISIS, we should not be giving our partners in the Arab world, who are fighting alongside US troops, any reason to doubt US commitment to our alliances with these predominantly Muslim countries,” the letter says.

— JTA