Local Expert Reacts To Trump's National Security Council Shake-up
by Justin Udo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A local political expert weighs in on President Trump's decision to remove the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the National Security Council.
Instead of the Joint Chiefs and the Director of National Intelligence, President Trump's Chief Strategist Steve Bannon will now be part of the National Security Council.
"We do need an explanation and it is somewhat extraordinary to think that the Joint Chiefs will be excluded," said Edward Turzanski, a senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a right-leaning think tank.
He says it's not a big surprise that Mr. Trump is removing the Director of National Intelligence from the council.
"The Director of National Intelligence, that's a position that Trump has signaled he would likely eliminate," Turzanski said.
He says every president places who he thinks should be part of the council, but this shakeup is a big change from the norm.
"It's a radical departure, and I think we are entitled to know what the president's thinking is," said Turzanski.