Bannon calls for Susie Wiles to be 'removed immediately' after GOP midterm losses

Former White House adviser Steve Bannon said White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and the political consultants around her should be "removed immediately" in the wake of heavy Republican losses in the midterm elections.

Democrats scored victories in battleground states across the country on Tuesday, flipping GOP-held seats in Texas, South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas and Ohio, among others.

"I think that you have to look to people like Susie Wiles, the chief of staff, and the political consultants that are there .. because of the results, they should be removed and removed immediately," Bannon said in an interview with British journalist Steven Edginton.

Bannon is not alone in demanding her exit. On Wednesday, Caroline Sunshine, a former staffer to President Trump, told Fox News that Wiles "needs to resign" and should "offer her resignation to the president before he has to ask for it. Her campaign skills have not translated into governing."

In his interview, Bannon also voiced alarm over Texas turning blue. Republicans have treated the Lone Star State as a stronghold for years, but Democratic candidates won key races there on Tuesday. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, becoming the state's first Democratic governor since Ann Richards in 1994.

Democrat James Talarico also prevailed over Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, making him the first Democratic senator from the state since 1988.

"Right now, in Texas we have a fight," Bannon said, warning that the incoming governor "can make Texas a sanctuary state." "If Texas is a sanctuary state like New York and California, you're seeing the end of this republic as you know it," he added.

Talarico, for his part, said in a recent interview with Forbes that he is open to cooperating with the Trump administration on immigration policy.

"I think there is an opportunity here to finally pass comprehensive immigration reform, to secure our border," he said. "And also create more legal pathways for hard-working immigrants to come to this country, contribute to this economy and make us richer and stronger as a nation."