What to watch tonight
First lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other speakers.
WASHINGTON – Citing a need to focus on her children, senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway is leaving her position in the administration, she announced.
Conway informed President Donald Trump of her decision Sunday night, The Washington Post first reported. Conway said in a statement she is transitioning out of her role at the end of this month.
Her husband, conservative attorney and frequent Trump administration critic George Conway, will step away from the Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump Republicans.
The Conway family has been in the spotlight after George’s public feuds with Kellyanne’s boss, despite her position within the administration. She was Trump’s campaign manager in the final months of his 2016 run for president.
“We disagree about plenty, but we are united on what matters most: the kids. Our four children are teens and tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months,” Kellyanne Conway said.
“As millions of parents nationwide know, kids ‘doing school from home’ requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual at these times,” she said.
The Conways’ 15-year-old daughter, Claudia, has described an increasingly volatile situation at home on her public social media channels, tweeting Saturday that she seeks legal emancipation from her parents. She made waves on social media over the past few months with her left-leaning views in TikTok videos and posts about her parents.
“So I’m withdrawing from @ProjectLincoln to devote more time to family matters. And I’ll be taking a Twitter hiatus,” George Conway tweeted. “Needless to say, I continue to support the Lincoln Project and its mission. Passionately.”
Claudia Conway said on Twitter Sunday that she would take a break from her own social media. “No hate to my parents please,” she said. She told USA TODAY in June that though she disagrees with most of her family’s political views, she and her mother have a “best friend” relationship, and she said she wanted to use her social media platform to raise awareness about social justice.
Kellyanne Conway is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention this week but did not address whether she still plans to do so in her statement.
“As many convention speakers will demonstrate this week, President Trump’s leadership has had a measurable, positive impact on the peace and prosperity of the nation, and on millions of Americans who feel forgotten no more,” she wrote.
She expressed gratitude to the president and vice president, calling her time in the White House “heady” and “humbling.”
“This is completely my choice and my voice. In time, I will announce future plans. For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama,” Kellyanne Conway said.