Trump’s new national security adviser may undo some of the president’s early foreign-policy changes

President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, is considering shaking up the White House’s foreign-policy team, giving him more latitude to access and control the Department of Homeland Security and other defense agencies, The New York Times reported Wednesday night.

Citing two anonymous officials, The Times said McMaster could undo changes the Trump administration made during its first days in office.

Among those changes under consideration, according to The Times:

Bringing the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff back into a cabinet-level committee. Rejoining the Homeland Security Council with the National Security Council. Their initial separation was seen as a way to limit the power of Michael Flynn, who resigned as national security adviser last week.

It was unclear whether McMaster would attempt any changes that would affect the standing of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who was given a seat on the National Security Council’s principals committee. That move alarmed both Republican and Democratic lawmakers because of Bannon’s lack of experience in foreign policy.

With Flynn out of the picture, McMaster, who has bipartisan and military support, may head both security councils. But one senior official who supported Bannon’s role told The Times it wouldn’t change under any reorganization.

Additionally, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said this week that while McMaster had full autonomy to organize his staff, Trump would have to approve any changes to Bannon's status.

Critics of Bannon's seat on the National Security Council's principals committee have been calling for his removal. Mike Mullen, a retired US Navy admiral and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed "grave concern" over Bannon's position.

"Given the gravity of the issues the NSC deals with, it is vital that that body not be politicized," Mullen said in an NPR interview published on Wednesday.

"Bannon's presence as a member of that body politicizes it instantly," he said.