Paul Singer

USA TODAY

Controversial White House counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka stepped down Friday, saying President Trump's populist campaign agenda had been hijacked by establishment figures, according to a letter first reported by the The Federalist, a conservative news site.

The White House confirmed his departure late Friday.

Gorka, an early Trump supporter who became a frequent Trump defender on cable news programs, had been targeted by liberals who said his alleged ties to a Hungarian nationalist party indicated the Trump administration's willingness to accept racism.

Gorka's departure comes close on the heels of the resignation of chief strategist Steve Bannon, a leader of the populist/nationalist movement before and during his brief White House tenure. Bannon has announced he is returning to Breitbart News, where Gorka was also a writer before the campaign.

In a resignation letter obtained by the Federalist, Gorka argues that the movement he and Bannon represent is being squeezed out of Trump's White House.

The Federalist quotes the letter at length:

“[G]iven recent events, it is clear to me that forces that do not support the MAGA promise are – for now – ascendant within the White House,” Gorka wrote. “As a result, the best and most effective way I can support you, Mr. President, is from outside the People’s House.”

“Regrettably, outside of yourself, the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will ‘Make America Great Again,’ have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months. This was made patently obvious as I read the text of your speech on Afghanistan this week…

“The fact that those who drafted and approved the speech removed any mention of Radical Islam or radical Islamic terrorism proves that a crucial element of your presidential campaign has been lost…

Trump's most ardent populist supporters have harbored deep suspicions about the agendas of Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner — both now top White House advisers — and the Wall Street/New York alumni in Trump's inner circle including economic adviser Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. These advisers are considered more moderate and less wedded to the radical upheaval Trump's presidency was supposed to represent.