White House grappling with aide’s resignation
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 ex-wives came forward with allegations of spousal abuse. And they tried to clarify the reaction from Trump, who has yet to offer a sympathetic word to the women who said they had been abused.
“The president believes, as he said the other day, you have to consider all sides,” said senior counselor Kellyanne Conway.
On Saturday, 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 Porter’s assertions of innocence and wished him a great future.
Conway also delivered what she said was a vote of confidence from Trump for chief of staff John Kelly, who has come under fire for his handling of the Porter matter.
Budget director Mick Mulvaney also downplayed the speculation about Kelly’s standing, suggesting those stories “are mostly being fed by people who are unhappy that they have lost access to the president.” He said talk of Kelly’s departure is “much ado about nothing.”
But Trump has grown frustrated with Kelly, and 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 Mulvaney, the others are House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Mark Meadows and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Mulvaney said no one has talked to him about replacing Kelly and “I don’t want that job.”
A number of West Wing aides were shaken by Kelly’s handling of the Porter accusations. At a senior staff meeting on Friday, Kelly tried to push his own timeline concerning Porter. Some aides in that meeting privately questioned Kelly’s account, thinking his version of events was selfserving, according to one official with knowledge of the meeting but not authorized to discuss it publicly.