White House aide

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed that Friday was his last day.

His exit follows a review of his position by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

Mr Bannon, a right-wing nationalist and former head of Breitbart.com, helped shape the "America First" message of Mr Trump's election campaign.

But critics had accused the 63-year-old of harbouring anti-Semitic and white supremacist views.

Mr Bannon is known to have competed for influence in the West Wing against more moderate factions, including members of the Trump family.

Now the deputy White House press secretary has drawn comparisons with her boss by tweeting a seemingly random string of emojis.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders sought to laugh the accident off, claiming her three-year-old son had stolen her phone.

Reactions on Twitter ranged from confusion to unbridled joy.

"This is the most coherent statement to come from the Trump administration," opined journalist David Blaustein.

"Is 'lolaklkk" the next 'covfefe'?" asked tweeter Lotus Prince.

Mr Flynn reportedly discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak in the weeks before the inauguration.

He denied talking about this issue but later said he could not be certain.

Any discussion of sanctions could have violated laws against private citizens engaging in foreign policy.

The controversy comes as Mr Trump faces his first major national security challenge, following the test by North Korea on Sunday of a ballistic missile.

Mr Flynn would ordinarily be closely involved in determining the US response to such a test.