A Reichkanzler is Taking Shape Along Pennsylvania Avenue

In 19th Century politics, and with German reunification, the title of Reichkanzler (Reich Chancellor) was considered equivalent to Prime Minister in other Western countries. One could almost pin that tag on Donald Trump after he upended the National Security Council (NSC) on January 28.

Two members of the NSC were invited to leave, to be called back only when a subject involving them was to be discussed. These are the Director of National Intelligence (formerly the Director of Central Intelligence) and the chairman of he Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a way this is defensible, as the DNI, as an intelligence officer, is not supposed to be involved in policy discussions; and the JCS Chairman is not in the chain of command (which runs from the President to the Secretary of Defense to the military commanders in the field). From the beginning, the only two statutory members of the NSC have been the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense.

However, in an executive order on January 28, Mr. Trump named Stephen K. Bannon a member of the NSC. Bannon, a former naval officer and head of the right-wing website Breitbart, is a White House adviser of Mr. Trump and does not need to be confirmed by the Senate. Neither does the National Security Adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn.

So we now have a situation whereby the intimidating Mr. Trump has injected  two right-wing ideologues (Bannon and Flynn) into the national security mix, and between the three of them, they probably figure they can carry the day on most issues. Pardon my observation that it sounds like 1933 in the ancient fatherhood of the Drumpf (sic) family.

Statements and views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author and do not imply endorsement by Harvard University, the Harvard Kennedy School, or the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.