Tense times for team
But tensions and internal power struggles have plagued other parts of Trump’s fledgling orbit, too.
Efforts to launch an outside group supporting Trump’s agenda have stalled amid fighting between Kushner loyalists and conservative donor Rebekah Mercer, according to people familiar with the tensions. The central dispute is over who controls the data the outside group would use, these people said.
Two people close to the transition also said a number of Trump’s most loyal campaign aides have been alarmed by Kushner’s efforts to elbow aside anyone he perceives as a possible threat to his role as Trump’s chief consigliere.
At one point during the transition, Kushner had argued internally against giving Conway a White House role, these two people said.
On Monday Trump watched as Conway sparred with NBC’s Chuck Todd on Meet the Press. Some Trump allies were unsettled by her performance but Trump called VicePresident Mike Pence to rave about how she handled questions from Todd. Trump was, however, perturbed that the media focused on two words from Conway’s interview: “alternative facts”.
Conway is arguably Trump’s most recognisable aide, which has caused her to receive threats against her life.
She has been assigned a Secret Service detail, according to someone with detailed knowledge of the situation.
In perhaps the clearest sign of where the administration’s power centre resides, the “Big Four” — Bannon, Conway, Kushner and Priebus — stood in the front row at Monday’s swearing-in ceremony for senior staffers, in the White House’s East Room.
Conway herself said that while the advisers sometimes disagree, rumours of dissension are overblown.
“We’re a cohesive unit,” she said. “The senior team exhibits many of the characteristics President Trump has always valued: cohesion, collaboration, high energy and high impact.”
Gag rule reinstated
Trump reinstated a global gag rule that bans US-funded groups around the world from discussing abortion, a move that was widely expected but nonetheless dismayed women’s rights advocates. The rule, which affects American non-governmental organisations working abroad, is one that incoming presidents have used to signal their positions on abortion rights. It was created under President Ronald Reagan in 1984.