White House press secretary Sean Spicer says the director of the CIA will be added to the White House National Security Council.
At Monday’s daily press briefing at the White House, Spicer said that President Donald Trump has decided to amend his recent memo restructuring the council to add CIA Director Mike Pompeo to the top circle of national security advisers. The restructuring also added White House senior adviser Steve Bannon to the council’s principals committee, which includes the secretaries of state and defense.
Trump’s move also directed the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to attend only when “issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed.”
But Spicer says those individuals will be welcome to attend the meetings. He disputed that the reorganization was a significant change from past administrations.
Major Wall Street banks, meanwhile, are speaking out against Trump’s temporary ban on refugees from several Muslim-majority countries.
Citigroup CEO Mike Corbat said the company is concerned about the message the executive order sends, and the impact immigration policies could have on the bank serving its clients and contributing to growth.
At Goldman Sachs, which has several former executives in the Trump administration, CEO Lloyd Blankfein said the ban is not something Goldman supports and it has the potential to disrupt the firm. Executives at those and other banks say Trump’s order could unsettle their operations, break up families, and hurt the banks’ ability to do business outside the U. S.
Like the technology industry, Wall Street banks have operations on nearly every continent and from many countries.
Spicer also said Trump will welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States for a visit Feb. 15. Spicer said Trump looks forward to “discussing continued strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation.”
Trump has signaled strong support for Israel. Netanyahu on Sunday said the American embassy in Israel should be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, endorsing one of Trump’s campaign promises.
