President Donald Trump is thinking about bringing Rob Porter back to the White House _ even though he resigned amid shocking abuse allegations from both his ex-wives, according to a report.
Trump has spoken to Porter on the phone at an increasing rate in the past few weeks, and has told aides that he misses the disgraced staff secretary and the administrative structure he helped develop at the White House, multiple people familiar with the matter told The New York Times on Monday.
Trump has told trusted advisers that he understands that he likely can't rehire Porter, as the optics would be disastrous, the sources said. But he reportedly made clear to the advisers that he wishes there was a way for Porter to get back in the fold.
A White House spokesman did not return a request for comment from the New York Daily News.
Porter, 40, abruptly stepped down Feb. 7 amid disturbing claims that he had emotionally and physically abused his two ex-wives. The allegations proved all the more credible after Porter's first ex-wife, Colbie Holderness, shared a photo of herself with a black eye that she said he gave her while they were on vacation in Italy.
News of Trump missing his former aide comes as staff shakeups continue to plague the White House.
A stunning number of senior officials have resigned or been fired in the past few weeks, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Communications Director Hope Hicks, top economic adviser Gary Cohn and top Russia probe lawyer John Dowd.
Porter's resignation resulted in an overhaul of the way the Trump administration issues security clearances. Porter was on an interim clearance for his entire tenure, as his alleged history of domestic abuse stalled his application and raised red flags from the White House personnel office.
White House chief of staff John Kelly faced an avalanche of backlash after it was revealed that he likely knew of the allegations against Porter for months, but still kept him on. Porter has denied all the allegations against him.
