In the days leading up to his exit Friday, Steve Bannon told associates that he felt profoundly constrained by the limits of the federal government and was itching to return to the outside world. He would be freer there to engage in the kind of militant political combat that catapulted him to national fame and thrust him into the center of Trumps orbit.
It was time, he told friends, to get ready for Bannon da barbarian.
Bannons departure from the White House positions him to become a major player on the outside where hes certain to push the administration to the right and wage war against the moderate Trump aides hes long collided with.
Bannon has floated the idea of returning to Breitbart, the bomb-throwing conservative website he formerly led. He is almost certain to link up with hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah, who have long bankrolled Bannons political projects, including Breitbart. On Wednesday, two days before he announced his exit, Bannon met for several hours in New York with Robert Mercer, according to two people familiar with the huddle.
Over the months, Bannon and Mercer have stayed in close touch on a number of topics, including Mercers decision to invest heavily in the primary campaign to unseat GOP Rep. Jeff Flake, a vocal Trump critic. Some people close to Bannon believe he could oversee the influential Mercer political operation, a perch that would give him access to millions of campaign dollars heading into the 2018 midterms, or launch a Mercer-funded media venture.
Bannon has expressed private frustration over how Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are treating Trump. The departed White House strategist has been concerned that Congress will pass a budget that lacks funding for the presidents priorities, including a wall on the southern border.
From a perch on the outside, Bannon reasoned, he could launch attacks on GOP leaders, stir up primary challenges, and rile conservative supporters going medieval, he has said much as Breitbart did against former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Bannon can also pressure the White House to allowing a government shutdown if Trump doesnt get what he wants in a funding bill.
Such a barrage, should it materialize, would further exacerbate tensions that are deeply dividing Republicans during the Trump era.
Conservative writer Lee Stranahan, who formerly worked with Bannon at Breitbart, said Bannon wouldnt be afraid to pressure Trump, reasoning that he was more concerned about pushing for populist priorities than offending the president.
Its all about the agenda, hes a stalwart on the agenda. Hes never been about just Trump, Stranahan said.
"Steve wants to change the world, said Sam Nunberg, a longtime former Trump aide and Bannon ally. From the outside, he has the power to criticize the administration when it's wrong and give insight into how the process and decisions were made.
Then there's the matter of White House personnel. Bannon has long vented about moderate Trump aides who have surrounded the president, a group that includes Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Gary Cohn and Dina Powell. Their globalist leanings, hes argued, go against the populist uprising that propelled Trump to the presidency.
And at a time when conservatives are worried the Trump presidency is adrift, Bannons friends say its only a matter of time until the globalists come under fire from the ousted chief strategist.