Larry Griffin
Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy‘s first act of legislation in Congress would protect the National Security Council from partisan politics, in the wake of President Donald Trump‘s appointment of his chief strategist Steve Bannon to the council over the weekend.
In doing that, Trump also downgraded the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Murphy’s bill would have two provisions – to ensure that no individual whose primary responsibility is political in nature is on the council or allowed to attend meetings, and to make sure the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should have a “standing invitation to attend Principal Committee meetings.”
Murphy, who is a former national security specialist with the Department of Defense and current member of the House Armed Services Committee, had strong words about the importance of keeping the National Security Council bipartisan.
“The security of the American people should be more important than partisan politics,” said Murphy. “It is reasonable and commonplace for presidents to decide who attends security meetings, but I strongly believe the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should have a standing invitation to attend all Principals Committee meetings given their importance to national security and expertise. My bill will help depoliticize national security so that we never jeopardize the safety and security of the American people.”
One comment
Douglas Fromel
February 1, 2017 at 5:50 pm
Way to go. Get rid of Bannon and his ilk as xenophobia and white supremacy do nothing to make us safer at the NSC level. He must go.
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