Conway to leave White House, focus on family
WASHINGTON — Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump and one of his longest-serving aides, is leaving the White House at the end of the month.
Ms. Conway, whose title is counselor to the president, was Mr. Trump’s third campaign manager in 2016 and the first woman to manage a presidential campaign to victory. She joined the White House at the start of Mr. Trump’s term and has been one of his most visible and vocal defenders.
Ms. Conway informed Mr. Trump of her decision Sunday night in the Oval Office.
Her husband, George Conway, a conservative lawyer and outspoken critic of the president, is stepping back from his role on the Lincoln Project, an outside group of Republicans devoted to defeating Trump in November. He will also take a hiatus from Twitter, the venue he has often used to attack the president.
In a statement, Ms. Conway called her time in the Trump administration “heady” and “humbling” and said she and Mr. Conway were making the decision based on what they think is best for their four children.
Ms. Conway’s high school-aged daughter, Claudia, had drawn attention for tweets about her parents and politics.
On Sunday, Claudia tweeted that social media was “becoming way too much” so she had decided to take “a mental health break.”
Ms. Conway’s announcement comes on the eve of the Republican National Convention as Mr. Trump seeks to gain momentum for a tough re-election battle ahead.
Ms. Conway has been intimately involved in the convention planning and is slated to speak Wednesday night about the theme of “everyday heroes.” She spent Saturday at the campaign headquarters.
The Conways became an object of fascination as Mr. Conway ramped up his criticism of the president in 2018 while his wife remained a top adviser to Mr. Trump.
Mr. Conway has written, among other things, that Mr. Trump is not mentally fit to be president.
The president has voiced anger at times about Mr. Conway’s comments, calling him a “a stone cold LOSER & husband from hell.”