JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. _ President Donald Trump's administration is actively gauging the mood in Missouri, considering how to proceed with handling Gov. Eric Greitens, a governor from Trump's own party who refuses to quit, three GOP Missouri House lawmakers told the Post-Dispatch.
"There's been interest from the White House about how this is playing out politically in Missouri," said one Republican, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "So they're really just trying to get information about how much support the governor has in the Legislature, and how much he has, kind of, statewide."
The lawmaker said that legislators have also been contacting the White House behind the scenes to pressure the president to act.
"I reached out to them," the lawmaker said. "Some of us have been proactive, and then others, like I've said, have been reached out to by them."
Greitens, a former Navy Seal, founded The Mission Continues in 2007. His alleged use of a fundraising list from the charity is under investigation.
A second lawmaker confirmed that White House officials are taking the temperature in Missouri, and a third said that he had received a phone call from a White House official in recent days.
"There are these liaisons from the White House that have been in touch with several lawmakers," said the second lawmaker, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity.
"I was given _ numbers in case I want to call, like contact information for some of these people (in the White House)," the second lawmaker said, adding that she received the contact information through an intermediary.
White House officials have not responded to inquiries on the matter this week.
Greitens has faced a full court press from members of his own party, with top GOP lawmakers and Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, also a Republican, telling the governor to quit. He faces increasing legal troubles, on one front defending himself against a felony invasion-of-privacy charges and allegations of sexual misconduct. He also faces possible felony computer tampering charges in St. Louis for allegedly taking a donor list from the charity he founded and using it to raise campaign cash.
The White House has not issued a formal call for Greitens to step down. On Friday, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a daily press briefing that sexual allegations against Greitens are "very concerning."
"It is certainly something that is very concerning and something that we are taking very seriously," Sanders said.
Her statement came after a trio of Senate Republicans sent Trump a letter pleading for him to intervene in Missouri.
"I believe that there is one person who could get this soldier to stand down. He's trained as a Navy SEAL," Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, said on the Senate floor on Thursday. "He's trained not to walk away from battle. But he is also trained to listen to his Commander-in-Chief. And I believe, that if you give him the order, if you tell him to stand down, Mr. President, I believe that he will. It's worth a shot."
But in calling on Trump to intervene, Schaaf illustrated an interesting dilemma the president likely faces: not wanting to be rebuffed by Greitens, who has refused to resign despite calls from the upper echelons of Missouri politics.
Trump could also face questions about sexual misconduct allegations of his own if he were to publicly raise awareness about the situation in Missouri.
The first Republican lawmaker said Tuesday evening's statements from House Speaker Todd Richardson, Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard and other top Republicans could give the White House some room to move in on Greitens.
"I'm sure that the decision of Ron Richard and House leadership carries a lot more weight," the lawmaker said. "I wouldn't speculate and say the White House is going to call on him to resign or something like that, but I would be shocked if you saw a statement from President Trump defending Gov. Greitens."
(Chuck Raasch of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this story from Washington.)
.jpg?w=600)
