Steve Bannon is stepping down from Breitbart News.

Bannon had faced pressure to leave following the publication of explosive comments he made about President Donald Trump and his administration.



Steve Bannon will step down as the executive chairman of Breitbart News, an outlet long seen as one of the most sympathetic to President Donald Trump, the organization said in a statement on Tuesday.

The New York Times reported that Bannon, a right-wing antagonist who was previously the White House chief strategist, was forced out by Rebekah Mercer, a conservative megadonor who has financially backed him and the site.

"I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform," Bannon said in the statement.

Bannon faced blowback last week after he was quoted in excerpts of Michael Wolff's new book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," criticizing Trump's children and administration — earning rebukes from many of the president's top allies. Bannon apologized on Sunday, but the White House signaled on Monday that it did not accept.

Mercer publicly broke from Bannon in a statement last week after months of distancing herself from him.

"I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected," Mercer said. "My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements."

Bannon's departure from Breitbart was announced on Tuesday internally to staffers, who were reportedly stunned.