Donald Trump fires chief strategist Stephen Bannon

Steve Bannon. Pic/AFP

Bannon was a force behind some of Trump's most contentious policies, including a travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority nations, and has fought with more moderate factions inside a White House rife with rivalries and backstabbing.

"White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve's last day," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement on Friday, adding, "We are grateful for his service and wish him the best."

Bannon's ouster comes with the president, seven months into his term in office, increasingly isolated over his comments following white supremacist violence in the Virginia college town of Charlottesville.