Former White House strategist Steve Bannon is planning to launch a war against the Republican establishment and top officials. According to The Independent, Bannon, who left his prestigious post last month, is said to be planning to smear senior Republican senators seeking to get re-elected next year.
Bannon could derail the Republican Party
After Donald Trump fired him, Bannon returned to the far-right media company Breitbart News and reportedly held meetings with politicians interested in challenging Republican senators currently in office in 2018's primaries.
According to Politico, Bannon has joined forces with Robert Mercer, a conservative donor who is reportedly ready to bankroll people opposed to current politicians in the ruling party. Some of the people Bannon could focus on include outspoken Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, an avowed critic of Donald Trump. After refusing to endorse Donald Trump's candidature in 2016, Nevada Senator Dean Heller could also find himself in trouble.
The former White House official is backing Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate special election. Moore is a former state supreme court lawman and is competing with Senator Luther Strange, who enjoys Donald Trump's support and from politicians allied to Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader.
There are concerns that Bannon's activities could drain the resources that the GOP needs to compete with the rival Democrats in next year's election. Speaking to CBS, Mr. Bannon said that the Republican party is trying to "nullify the 2016 election."
He claimed that McConnell and Paul Ryan do not want Trump's agenda to succeed.
Firing Comey was a big mistake
On Monday, the journalist said that the decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey was one of the biggest errors in the history of modern politics. Appearing on CBS, the former Trump administration official said that he opposed the decision to remove Comey from office.
Before his dismissal, Comey was heading the FBI probe into possible collusion between Trump's campaign team and the Kremlin in the run-up to last year's presidential election.
Bannon voiced his belief that the current investigations headed by Robert Mueller would have been avoided had Trump not dismissed the former FBI boss. Mueller is reportedly examining the draft of a letter by Trump explaining the reasoning behind his decision to get rid of Comey. There are fears within Trump's inner circle that the letter could prove that the US leader acted unlawfully.
Mueller is reportedly planning to summon former White House Secretary Sean Spicer and former chief of staff Reince Priebus as part of his far-reaching probe.
