The White House has announced today that National Security Council member and top Trump adviser on Iran Derek Harvey has been fired "effective immediately".
Derek Harvey, who served as special assistant to the president and senior director for the Middle East on the National Security Council, was relieved of his duties Thursday.
The NSC had no explanation for Retired Army Col. Derek Harvey's removal in a statement sent to Anadolu Agency, but said the Trump administration, "is working with Colonel Harvey to identify positions in which his background and expertise can be best utilized".
Harvey was hired by Trump's former national security adviser, retired Gen. Michael Flynn.
"I am excited about the opportunities to advance American interests in the Middle East under President Trump's leadership, and I look forward to shouldering greater responsibilities in support of the President", Harvey said.
NSC spokesman Michael Anton would not provide any more information on the record beyond the statement he issued earlier on Harvey's departure, but he did confirm that Harvey's deputies, Joel Rayburn and Michael Bell, still work for the NSC. But an effort to remove Ezra Cohen-Watnick, a Bannon and Harvey protege, as the NSC intelligence director failed when Bannon and others intervened with Trump.
Harvey's departure comes amid speculation about major shake-ups at the White House, the Weekly Standard reports. Several officials involved in Middle East and counterterrorism policy drafted a memo that outlined some alternatives to the policies that Harvey was championing in the fight against the Islamic State.
But while Harvey's future in the administration remains unclear, a spokesperson for the NSC confirmed that his ouster was not the result of a mutual decision, telling reporters it was fair to say he was "removed".
A protege of Gen. David Petraeus when Petraeus was commander of US forces in Iraq, Harvey was credited for predicting the post-invasion insurgency there. And yet, Harvey has positions that don't quite square up with Bannon's normal non-interventionist approach to foreign policy. Petraeus has called Harvey his "favorite intelligence officer".