pmaitra
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Inside the White House-Cabinet battle over Trump’s immigration order
Commentary: Trump was elected. Trump is Kelly’s boss. Bannon is not Kelly’s boss. Kelly’s job is to advise Trump, but not to be Trump’s plenipotentiary in giving instructions to people who are subordinate to Trump but not subordinate to Bannon. He should have stayed out of this, assuming the Washington Post report is true.
He [added clarification: Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly] would issue a waiver for lawful permanent residents, a.k.a. green-card holders, from the seven majority-Muslim countries whose citizens had been banned from entering the United States.
White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon wanted to stop Kelly in his tracks and told him not to issue the order. Kelly, according to two administration officials familiar with the confrontation, refused to comply.
Two sources told me [added clarification: Author Josh Rogin] that Bannon visited Kelly’s office on Jan. 28 to deliver the message.
_________________________The disagreement between Bannon and Kelly pitted a political operator against a military disciplinarian. Respectfully but firmly, the retired general and longtime Marine told Bannon that despite his high position in the White House and close relationship with President Trump, the former Breitbart chief was not in Kelly’s chain of command, two administration officials said. If the president wanted Kelly to back off from issuing the waiver, Kelly would have to hear it from the president directly, he told Bannon.
Commentary: Trump was elected. Trump is Kelly’s boss. Bannon is not Kelly’s boss. Kelly’s job is to advise Trump, but not to be Trump’s plenipotentiary in giving instructions to people who are subordinate to Trump but not subordinate to Bannon. He should have stayed out of this, assuming the Washington Post report is true.