Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon Stephen (Steve) Kevin BannonDemocrats' cowardice must end: It's time to teach the GOP a lesson Juan Williams: Swamp creature at the White House Engineers say privately funded border wall is poorly constructed and set to fail: report MORE on Tuesday praised Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiDemocratic senator to party: 'A little message discipline wouldn't kill us' Overnight Health Care: New wave of COVID-19 cases builds in US | Florida to lift all coronavirus restrictions on restaurants, bars | Trump stirs questions with 0 drug coupon plan Overnight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds MORE (D-Calif.) over her handling of the House’s impeachment investigation into President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE as “quite brilliant.”

“I disagree with her ideologically, but I think Nancy Pelosi is a master at political warfare. I think, strategically, what she has done from their perspective is actually quite brilliant,” Bannon said in an interview with CBS News.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bannon, who had a falling out with Trump that led to his ouster at the White House but has continued to be a staunch defender of the president, runs a podcast called “War Room: Impeachment” with former Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller and Raheem Kassam. The podcast is intended to buoy the administration amid GOP concerns over a lack of coordination in its response to the House’s inquiry.

Bannon told CBS News a “sense of urgency” among the president's allies “is not there today” and that the GOP is “not as united on messaging as the Democrats.”

However, Bannon also predicted that the impeachment could be a boon for Trump’s reelection chances, saying Wednesday’s public hearings are the start of the 2020 campaign.

“You’ve got to get maniacally focused on how you're going to make this case to the American people, and it’s going to start tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.,” Bannon said.

The former Trump aide has complimented Pelosi's strategy in the past, saying last month that her strategy is "winning."

Bannon’s comments come a day before the House is set to hold its first public hearings in its impeachment investigation. William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, and George Kent, a top State Department official, are set to testify Wednesday, while former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is expected to testify Friday.

House Democrats launched their impeachment inquiry in September over concerns that Trump threatened to withhold $400 million in military aid to Ukraine unless Kyiv publicly launched an inquiry into former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE and 2016 election meddling. Republicans have dismissed concerns that Trump’s request was inappropriate, and the president has maintained that his interactions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were "perfect."

However, several witnesses have testified that they were uncomfortable with Trump’s request and that they believed there was a quid pro quo surrounding the president’s dealings with Ukraine.