Donald Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly has defended his handling of the resignation of former aide Rob Porter, saying he never considered leaving the White House despite
“I have absolutely nothing to even consider resigning over,” Mr Kelly told reporters.
The top aide has been under scrutiny since former White House staff secretary Mr Porter stepped aside over allegations of abusing his ex-wives - allegations Mr Porter denies - prompting questions about when Mr Kelly became aware of Mr Porter’s alleged conduct.
Since Mr Porter stepped aside, it has emerged that he was operating without permanent security clearance. The FBI has said it shared findings from its background check of Mr Porter with the White House multiple times before the allegations against Mr Porter became public.
The Republican-led House Oversight committee sent Mr Kelly a letter last month demanding to know when the White House “became aware of potential derogatory disqualifying information” on Mr Porter.
Responding to the mounting scrutiny, Mr Kelly announced a review of the White House’s vetting process, leading numerous staffers to have their security clearances downgraded - including Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and close adviser.
Mr Kelly told reporters this week that he had his “eyes opened” last September about the number of staffers operating without permanent security clearances, saying it was “more people than I was comfortable with”, but said he had not heard a “serious accusation” against Mr Porter until the day before his resignation.
While Mr Trump has continued to express confidence in his chief of staff, Mr Kelly has acknowledged missteps in the administration’s reaction to allegations against Mr Porter. In their initial responses, Mr Kelly and Mr Trump offered glowing appraisals of the embattled aide.
“We didn't cover ourselves in glory in how we handled that,” Kelly told reporters on Friday, but in relation to that initial response, he said that “at that point in time, I thought that statement was accurate.”.
Mr Kelly’s insistence that he had no reason to resign came after another prominent aide, communications director Hope Hicks, announced she would be leaving. The administration has seen a high level of turnover during Mr Trumps first 13 months in office, with Mr Kelly taking on his current role after Mr Trump’s initial chief of staff, Reince Priebus, was ousted following six months on the job.
