Fallout after Porter’s exit persists
WASHINGTON — Reeling from the downfall of a senior aide, the White House was on the defensive Sunday, attempting to soften President Donald Trump’s comments about the mistreatment of women while rallying around the embattled chief of staff.
Several senior aides fanned out on the morning talk shows to explain how the White House handled the departure of staff secretary Rob Porter, a rising West Wing star who exited after two exwives came forward with allegations of spousal abuse. And they tried to clarify the reaction from Mr. Trump, who has yet to offer a sympathetic word to the women who said they had been abused.
The episode has put the White House in the awkward position of accepting as credible the allegations against Mr. Porter, even while Mr. Trump defends the right of “due process” for those accused of abusive behavior or sexual misconduct — a category into which the president himself falls.
“The president believes, as he said the other day, you have to consider all sides,” said senior counselor Kellyanne Conway. “He has said this in the past about incidents that relate to him as well. At the same time, you have to look at the results. The result is that Rob Porter is no longer the staff secretary.”
Ms. Conway also said that Mr. Trump had learned of the accusations against Mr. Porter only last week. He may not have read underlying reports by the FBI, which investigated Mr. Porter’s security clearance, or contemporaneous police reports, she said.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump tweeted that “lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false.” And the day before, he pointed to Mr. Porter’s assertions of innocence and wished him a great future.
Ms. Conway also delivered what she said was a vote of confidence from Mr. Trump for chief of staff John Kelly, who has come under fire for his handling of the Porter matter. Mr. Kelly initially defended his right-hand man before later offering a version of the week’s events that puzzled aides and did not line up with the White House’s earlier timeline.
Reports throughout the past week have asserted that Mr. Kelly knew for some time that the two former wives of Mr. Porter had accused him of abuse — and that the trouble held up a permanent security clearance for one of the most sensitive jobs in the administration.
Budget director Mick Mulvaney, among those mentioned as a possible Kelly successor if Mr. Trump were to make a change, also downplayed the speculation about Mr. Kelly’s standing, suggesting those stories “are mostly being fed by people who are unhappy that they have lost access to the president.”
But Mr. Trump has grown frustrated with Mr. Kelly, once commended for bringing discipline to the West Wing but who recently has been at the center of his own controversies.
Mr. Trump has begun floating possible names for a future chief of staff in conversations with outside advisers, according to three people with knowledge of the conversations but not authorized to discuss them. In addition to Mr. Mulvaney, the others are House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Mark Meadows and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Mr. Mulvaney said no one has talked to him about replacing Mr. Kelly and “I don’t want that job.”
There was no sign that a move was imminent, according to the people with knowledge of the conversations. Mr. Trump is known to frequently poll his advisers about the performance of senior staff and is often reluctant to actually fire aides.
Mr. Kelly — a retired four-star general hired six months ago with a mandate to corral chaos — has indicated he would step aside if he lost the faith of the president. But he has not offered to resign, according to a White House official who was not authorized to discuss personnel matters publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.