Abcarian: Steve Bannon discovers the hard way that defying Congress is no joke Steve Bannon has an impressive history in fighting for causes that transcend partisan or ideological lines.
— Steve Bannon, the hard-charging senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, learned the hard way during the confirmation process for the Supreme Court nominee that defying Congress is no joke.
Speaking with ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on the “GMA” show Tuesday, Bannon defended his decision to hold several rallies in opposition to the president-elect’s nominee for the high court. He explained that he would have been “screwed” if the Senate judiciary committee had allowed him to miss the hearing to hold rallies.
After the Senate panel rejected his nomination — and he was rebuked by President-elect Trump over Twitter — the New York Times reported that Bannon had argued in private that he would have to defy the panel, an offense punishable by removal from the Senate and possible contempt of Congress.
The White House denied these stories, saying that the president-elect had been very supportive in his dealings with McConnell and other senators during the confirmation process.
But Bannon, the incoming senior adviser, said that he would have been “screwed” if the panel had granted him a recess to hold rallies.
“I would have been screwed if I had to stay home and not be home campaigning for my people and for this administration,” Bannon said to Stephanopoulos, who first brought up the matter in an interview with “GMA” earlier this month.
“I’m not a great campaigner, so I would not have done well with those types of things,” Bannon said, adding, “We would have done better if we knew that they were going to be on a recess so that we could go to work…. I just knew that if I was home I would have been screwed.”
“I would have been screwed” was the response he got when Stephanopoulos asked him if he was “screwed” being home for the Thanksgiving holiday.
A “GMA” reporter challenged Bannon over it in an attempt to get a more detailed response.
“I would have been screwed,” Bannon responded. “It was the same thing.”
“I’m sorry?” the reporter asked.
