Report: Trump considering ousting Priebus, Bannon

President Trump is considering ousting both White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Stephen Bannon, Axios reported on Friday.

Aides and advisers to the president told Axios that, while Trump is considering a major shakeup in the West Wing, it’s not clear when it would happen or if Trump will “pull that trigger.”

“Things are happening, but it’s very unclear the president’s willing to pull that trigger,” one top aide said.

Bannon emerged as one of Trump’s closest — and most controversial — aides before the president took office. In the early days of his presidency, Trump elevated Bannon to a position on the National Security Council’s (NSC) principals committee, and the former Breitbart executive was said to hold considerable influence with the president.

{mosads}But Bannon was removed from the NSC earlier this week, seen by many White House staffers as a sign of his fall from grace inside the administration. The reshuffling of the NSC came as Bannon, a self-described “economic nationalist,” finds himself locked in a battle with Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, for influence.

Bannon and Priebus represent divergent forces in the Trump administration, with the latter, a former Republican National Committee chairman, serving as the voice of the political establishment in a White House full of political neophytes. 

Firing them both would be an enormous upheaval for the young presidency, which has yet to hit its 100-day mark.

Axios did not say who could replace Bannon as Trump’s chief strategist but reported that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn were among those being considered to replace Priebus as chief of staff.