When it was reported that Steve Bannon had been fired by the President's chief of staff Gen. John Kelly, America heaved a sigh of relief, hoping that the President would finally be restrained. However, some details in a new report by the Washington Post titled: "During a summer of crisis, Trump chafes against criticism and new controls" revealed that when Kelly isn't around, Trump had been reaching out to Steve Bannon for advice.
Another former assistant to the President, Sebastian Gorka, said last week that the President had contacted him asking that he help the Trump agenda from the outside. Gorka was fired a week after Bannon.
Trump created the position specifically for Bannon
The role of chief strategist did not exist prior to the Trump presidency. Donald Trump created the position specifically for Steve Bannon. It would appear, however, that after the President was asked by the New York Post about Bannon being his chief strategist in April, Trump said that he was his own chief strategist, words that would significantly prove to weaken the position that Bannon thought he had.
However, given the fact that Trump is still reaching out to Bannon, it would seem that his position as chief strategist might still be secure.
Previous positions held by extremists remain unfilled
Bannon's removal from the White House last month was the work of John Kelly, who had already received a lot of complaints about Bannon and was questioning the Breitbart executive's role. A report by Politico titled, "Trump's shrinking West Wing," points out how Kelly's efforts have shrunk the West Wing of staffers as he rights the ship. As of this writing, there doesn't appear to be any effort by Kelly to fill in those positions again, especially the position of chief strategist.
The position itself easily contributes to the view that the administration was top-heavy.
The chief strategist position is another hint into a chaotic White House when staffers were at each other's throats, trying to influence the President with their own agenda. Kelly certainly took notice of that and has put in a new policy-making system that serves to make sure policy agendas are first vetted through the chief of staff, his deputy Kristjen Nielson, and staff secretary Rob Porter.
A better qualified process by better quality people
It was reported that Kelly sent out memos to White House and cabinet aides to inform them of a new policy-making process when the President returned to Washington in August. The effort is an evolution of what Kelly first initiated, which was to make sure that White House aides focused on their strengths and that there not be any crossover of agendas.
With the firing of the most extreme members of the West Wing, Gen. Kelly made it clear that he would not stand for any of it. But Kelly's new policy-making system also serves as an effective replacement for a chief strategist, which combines vetted insight from internal and external sources.
The process would result in a "decision memo" that would provide the President with options he could use to make decisions. Overall, the fact that the White House has now been reduced to a skeleton crew, is a further indication that the rigorous transition in the West Wing is now making room for better qualified people.