WASHINGTON _ A former top Republican National Committee official and ally of White House chief of staff Reince Priebus will depart her West Wing post in the first significant shake-up of President Donald Trump's senior staff.
Politico first reported that Katie Walsh, the deputy White House chief of staff, will leave to take on an advisory position with political groups that were formed to support the president's agenda from the outside.
Walsh had served as chief of staff at the RNC when Priebus was party chair. At the White House, she served in a similar capacity under Priebus, tasked with overseeing the senior staff and the scheduling operation.
Though White House officials denied the move was a signal of disharmony within the senior ranks, her departure spoke to issues dogging the new administration _ a top-heavy operation in the West Wing and also the inability of the president to sustain the kind of grass-roots support for his agenda that proved key to his electoral win.
"It was abundantly clear we didn't have air cover when it came to the calls coming into lawmakers, and nobody can fix this problem like Katie Walsh," Priebus told reporters later, according to Time.
