Gutsy Rookie Congresswoman Moves To Stop Trump And Bannon’s Power Grab (VIDEO)

In case you missed it, Donald Trump is trying to put his stamp on the National Security Council by placing his chief strategist and chief brownshirt, Steve Bannon, on that critical panel. Well, a rookie congresswoman from Florida is having none of it. On Wednesday,  she introduced a bill that will not only eject Bannon from the panel, but prevent any future president from politicizing national security in this way.

Stephanie Murphy represents Florida’s 7th District, which covers much of downtown Orlando and areas to the north. She defeated 23-year Republican incumbent John Mica in the 2016 election after a court-ordered redistricting flipped it from a district narrowly carried by Mitt Romney in 2012 to one that would have been equally narrowly carried by Barack Obama.

Even though she is a freshman member of the minority party representing a swing district, she wasted little time making waves. On Wednesday, she introduced the “Protect The National Security Council From Political Interference Act.” It is intended to not only cancel Bannon’s appointment, but ensure that there isn’t a next time for a president attempting to inject politics into national security discussions.

Watch Murphy’s floor speech introducing the bill here.

In all likelihood, Trump’s directive permanently appointing Bannon to the NSC and its Principals Committee–the panel charged with most of the most important decisions on national security policy–is illegal. Slate’s Fred Kaplan noted soon after that directive was rolled out that under current law, the NSC’s membership is limited to Cabinet members, Cabinet undersecretaries, and military department heads who have been confirmed by the Senate. Since Bannon is not subject to Senate confirmation, he is not eligible to sit on the NSC.

But that doesn’t go far enough for Murphy. In her floor speech announcing the bill, she said it was necessary to fulfill “the most solemn responsibility of federal policymakers”–to protect the American people. While she acknowledged that presidents have the right to “utilize this instrument in the manner that the president sees fit,” she added that there is “bipartisan consensus” that national security discussions must not be “contaminated or perceived to be contaminated” by politics.

Murphy contended that Trump’s appointment of Bannon is grossly inappropriate, given the “strong political component” of his White House role. She noted that George W. Bush decided to keep Karl Rove–whose position was roughly analogous to Bannon’s position today–specifically to avoid the appearance that such critical discussions were in any way affected by politics.

Her bill stipulates that no one whose “primary responsibility is political in nature” would be eligible to serve on the NSC or attend NSC meetings. It would further notify Trump that the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs should have a standing invitation to attend Principals Committee meetings, as per longstanding tradition. Under Trump’s order, these two officials only attend Principals Committee meetings when matters directly affecting them are under discussion.

Murphy rightly argued that both civilians, soldiers, intelligence officials, and security personnel deserve to know that national security decisions “are free from political considerations” and have “the best interests of the American people” in mind.

Lest you think this is political posturing, Murphy knows what she’s talking about. Before coming to Congress, she served as a national security specialist in the Pentagon, and has a master’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown. She is also the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who probably would have had a hard time getting into this country as a result of an executive order that is the very definition of a national security move tainted by political considerations.

You would think that wanting to take politics out of national security would get bipartisan support. But unfortunately, it isn’t–at least, not in this House. As of Friday afternoon, Murphy’s bill has 69 cosponsors–all Democrats. There’s reason to hope that any companion bill introduced in the Senate would get more Republican support. Murphy pointed out that John McCain was stunned at the “unprecedented” nature of Bannon’s appointment.

However, the American people apparently know better. Most of the comments about her bill on Facebook have been positive. She’s going to need to know we have her back. Send her some love on Facebook and on Twitter.

(featured image courtesy Murphy’s Facebook)

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.