With Priebus and Bannon out, Congress and the White House aren't really talking
White House staffing shake-ups have created a communications void between the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, The Hill reports, citing unnamed GOP sources.
Former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and former chief strategist Stephen Bannon, both of whom were fired this summer, were the primary contacts for Capitol Hill staff and legislators seeking to coordinate the Republican agenda with the Trump team. Bannon has yet to be replaced, and the new chief of staff, John Kelly, lacks the established personal relationships Priebus had cultivated for years.
"There is great respect for John Kelly but no real belief that anyone else can effectively carry out the Trump agenda until Kelly replaces Bannon with a conservative leader," one House Republican explained to The Hill. "Kelly is definitely a huge force, but I don't know him," said another. While Vice President Mike Pence has good relationships with many lawmakers, some legislators prefer to reach out to Trump's budget director, Mick Mulvaney, a former representative, to avoid bothering Pence about smaller matters.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The selection to fill Bannon's shoes will be key to re-establishing rapport between congressional and executive branch Republicans, sources told The Hill. The current situation has raised concerns that President Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner — hardly staunch conservatives — are now the dominant advising voices in the White House.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Judge axes North Dakota's near-total abortion ban
Speed Read A judge in the Republican-dominated state overturned the ban, citing a woman's 'fundamental right'
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - September 13, 2024
Friday's cartoons - spacewalking, a Venezuelan Christmas, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Van Gogh's Starry Night over the Rhône, 1888
The Week Recommends This blockbuster exhibition is a 'five-star cracker'
By Ellie O'Mahoney, The Week UK Published
-
Netanyahu makes controversial address
Speed Reads Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress denounced Gaza war protestors
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Menendez convicted of bribery, fraud, and extortion
Speed Read The New Jersey Democratic Senator was found guilty in a federal corruption trial
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Florida judge dismisses Trump documents case
Speed Read Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Hamas says military chief survived Israeli strike
Speed Read An Israeli bombing failed to hit its intended target, military commander Mohammed Deif, but killed at least 90 Palestinians
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
First Israeli report on Oct. 7 finds 'severe mistakes and errors' in IDF response
Speed Reads Israeli military admits failures in response to deadly Hamas attack that triggered Gaza war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden saw neurologist during physicals
Speed Read Following his bad debate performance, many are asking questions about the president's brain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published