Sebastian Gorka: Donald Trump 'could remove Steve Bannon ally from White House post'

Chief of Staff John Kelly may be looking to root out officials prone to spark public firestorms, sources say

White House terrorism advisor Sebastian Gorka could be the next one to leave the White House, sources have said (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Sebastian Gorka could be nex to leave Donald Trump's administration after his ally Steve Bannon was fired, it has been claimed.

Mr Gorka, who previously worked with Mr Bannon at Breitbart News, is another key figure of the Trump's administration populist stance.

Two sources with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg he could be removed from his counter-terrorsim advisory role to Mr Trump in a move which could suggest White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is looking to root out Mr Bannon's allies and any officials prone to sparking public controversies.

Mr Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general, joined the White House at the end of last month in a bid to get President Trump's legislative agenda back on track and bring order to what has been widely reported as a chaotic White House, with internal feuds and departures dominating media reports.

While the White House is riven by scandals, not least the investigation into whether Mr Trump's campaign officials colluded with Russia before last year's election, Mr Kelly may want to crack down on officials leaking details of White House conflicts to journalists.

Mr Gorka recenlty came under the spotlight when, during an interview with the BBC, he dismissed the idea that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would discuss military matters with North Korea as "nonsensical".

He made the comments after Mr Tillerson sought to downplay the escalating crisis and suggested there was still the possibility of dialogue between the two countries. He later accused the media of distorting his comments.

Like Mr Bannon, Mr Gorka is a far-right nationalist and, along with Stephen Miller, a senior policy advisor involved in shapinig Mr Trump's immigration policy. Hhe has come under growing scrutiny after the rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville turned violent.

In an interview with Breitbart News Daily three days before the violence in Charlottesville, Mr Gorka accused the media of focusing too much on white supremacists.

“It’s this constant, ‘Oh, it’s the white man. It’s the white supremacists. That’s the problem.’ No, it isn’t, Maggie Haberman,” Mr Gorka said, referring to the prominent New York Times reporter.

John Weaver, who worked on John McCain's presidential campaigns and as an advisor to Ohio Governor John Kasich, who ran against Mr Trump in the Republican primaries, previously said the trio of Mr Bannon, Mr Gorka and Mr Miller should leave the White House.

Before Mr Bannon's departure was announced, Mr Weacer tweeted: "Bannon, Gorka, Miller and others must go. Period."

Later, he tweeted: "I have this vision of Gorka hiding under his desk, clutching his cereal box, Hungarian white nationalist medals and his Risk pieces."

Longstanding tea party activist Debbie Dooley previously told The Independent a decision by Mr Trump to purge the White House of Mr Bannon, Mr Gorka and Mr Miller would be "a slap in the face" to the President's base of supporters.