Steve Bannon steps down as head of Breitbart News

Donald Trump’s onetime chief White House strategist Steve Bannon is stepping down from Breitbart News where he served as executive chairman, the New York Times reports.

The news comes following a media maelstrom after journalist Michael Wolff released excerpts of his new book Fire and Fury last week. In the book, Bannon is quoted heaping criticism on the president and members of his family. Trump responded to Bannon’s remarks by telling reporters when his former top aide lost his role in the White House, he also “lost his mind.”

Last week, the billionaire GOP Mercer family publicly severed ties with Bannon. That news came amid reports the GOP donors have been privately speaking with Peter Thiel, who is mulling the creation of a conservative news network to rival Fox News. Despite disavowing Bannon, Rebekah Mercer maintained her minority stake in Breitbart news, which she'd previously purchased from her father, Robert Mercer.

In a statement, Bannon said he is “proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform.”