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Congresswoman Waters Condemns Bannon Appointment to NSC

February 1, 2017

Washington D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters issued the following statement regarding the appointment of White House Senior Counselor Steve Bannon to the National Security Council:

"I unequivocally condemn President Trump's appointment of white supremacist, ethno-nationalist Steve Bannon to the National Security Council (NSC). President Trump, who lost the popular vote by 2.8 million votes and was elected with the assistance and support of the Russian government, David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan, appears determined to govern as he ran his campaign, appealing only to the most extreme elements of our society.

"Steve Bannon is neither a national security expert, nor does he have foreign policy or intelligence experience that would justify his placement on a council charged with the safety and security of the American public. As a master manipulator, Steve Bannon's chief objective is to continue to use President Trump as a ‘blunt instrument' to burn down the proverbial house and rebuild our government from the ground up, in a manner that would serve only a tiny fraction of the American people.

"Steve Bannon's radical views against Muslims are also troubling given the sensitive alliances that must be preserved in the fight against ISIS. As someone who called for the formation of a ‘church militant' to ‘bind together' in a ‘war against Islam,' Steve Bannon's appointment to a council advising on national security would further alarm our global partners who are already unnerved by President Trump's incoherent foreign policy goals. I urge my colleagues to continue to fight, and resist at every turn President Trump's attempts to divide our country and destroy our values."