Reince Priebus provided some clarity to his new job as White House chief of staff Monday morning and how it will coexist with the role of Breitbart CEO Steve Bannon as Donald Trump’s top political adviser, with the outgoing head of the Republican National Committee confirming that part of his work would comprise whipping votes on Capitol Hill for what was described as Bannon’s “populist vision”.
A partial transcript from Fox & Friends with interviewer Steve Doocy follows:
Priebus’s selection was well-received by the Republican establishment, given his ties to House speaker Paul Ryan and connections throughout the GOP as one of its longest-serving party chairs. But while he conceded he’ll still serve an “advisory” role to Trump, in part—one of myriad duties of the typical White House chief of staff—he also stressed that his work will be “really running the operation so the right people are getting in front of the president, giving the president the right advice at the right time.”
There’s no indication that Priebus will be a buffer between Trump and Bannon, however, whose addition to the president-elect’s staff has been met mostly with silence from Capitol Hill Republicans and condemnation from Democrats. A press release from Sunday announcing the hiring of both aides said they would work as “equal partners”. Bannon, whose formal title will be chief strategist and senior counselor, added that he and Priebus had a “very successful partnership on the campaign”.
Priebus was also complimentary of his counterpart Monday morning. “The Steve Bannon I know is a guy that is really on the same page with a lot of the things—almost everything that I agree with, as far as advising President-elect Trump. He was a force for good on the campaign. He was very wise and smart.”
