Key Words: Bannon declares ‘season of war’ against Republican establishment

‘There’s a time and a season for everything and right now it’s a season of war against a GOP establishment.’

Steve Bannon

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon went on the attack against Senate Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, warning of a swath of primary challenges in 2018 and warning lawmakers that fail to defend President Donald Trump will pay a price.

Speaking to religious conservatives at the Values Voters Summit in Washington, the Breitbart executive chairman said he is planning to challenge all Republican senators up for reelection in 2018 except for Ted Cruz of Texas, news reports said. Bannon has called on the candidates he backs to oppose McConnell as majority leader and to back ending the Senate filibuster process, according to Politico.

Targeting McConnell, Bannon took up a Shakespeare reference: “It’s like before the Ides of March. The only question is, and this just analogy or metaphor…they’re just looking to find out who’s going to be Brutus to your Julius Caesar.”

Bannon also slammed Senate Republicans by name for not publicly distancing themselves from Sen. Bob Corker’s criticism of Trump, Politico reported, expressing particular ire at Sens. John Barraso of Wyoming, Dean Heller of Nevada, and Deb Fischer of Nebraska.

“Nobody can run and hide on this one. These folks are coming for you. The days of taking a few nice conservative votes and hiding are over,” he said.

Corker, a Tennessee Republican who is not seeking reelection in 2018, told the New York Times in an interview published earlier this week that Trump treats his office “like a reality show” and that his recklessness could pave “the path to World War III.” Trump fired back at the senator, calling him “Liddle’ Bob Corker” in a tweet, in an apparent reference to Corker’s height.