Bannon reportedly told Trump to keep a 'hit list' of disloyal Republicans


With conservative support for the GOP health-care bill dwindling in the short hours before the legislation is scheduled to go to a vote, the White House is reportedly keeping tabs on who is friend and foe. Multiple Trump administration officials told The Daily Beast that chief strategist Stephen Bannon has told Trump to keep a "s--- list" of the Republicans who act disloyal to the White House.
"[Bannon] has told the president to keep a s--- list on this," one official said. "He wants a running tally of [the Republicans] who want to sink this … Not sure if I'd call it an 'enemies list,' per se, but I wouldn't want to be on it."
Another aide called it a "hit list" and two others noted Trump and Bannon's "you're either with us or against us" worldview.
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The health-care bill has most notably lost the support of two dozen or so Freedom Caucus members, who claim the Paul Ryan-backed bill does not go far enough in its repeal of ObamaCare. The Freedom Caucus is not exactly quaking from Trump's threats, though. When asked by The Daily Beast about being on Trump and Bannon's "hit list," one member simply said: "Meh."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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