Breitbart writer expected to join White House staff

Julia Hahn, a staff writer at Breitbart News, is expected to join the White House – a move that further underscores Breitbart’s influence in the new administration.

According to two sources briefed on the move, Hahn’s title will be special assistant to the president and she is expected to primarily work under White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, himself a former key player at Breitbart. Prior to joining Donald Trump’s campaign, Bannon, an outspoken populist and member of the president’s inner circle, was chairman of the conservative website.

Along with speechwriter Stephen Miller, Bannon and Hahn form a nationalist wing of the administration – one that has shaped its intellectual worldview. The influence of Bannon and Miller was apparent in Trump’s inaugural address, which was packed with populist rhetoric.

It’s not clear whether the hire has been entirely finalized. Neither Hahn nor a White House spokesperson responded to requests for comment.

Hahn, a former producer for conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham, has worked at Breitbart since 2015. Over the last month, she has penned a number of stories about Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions’s nomination as attorney general and covered Trump’s selection of Robert Lighthizer to be U.S. trade representative.

Like many other Breitbart writers, she has at times been critical of House Speaker Paul Ryan. Prior to the election, she wrote a lengthy story detailing Ryan’s tepid support for Trump during the campaign titled, “He’s With Her: Inside Paul Ryan’s Months-Long Campaign to Elect Hillary Clinton President.”

There are indications, however, that Bannon and Ryan are getting along. Last week, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said the two were collaborating on tax reform, a key plank of the president’s ambitious agenda.