Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway said the president still has “full confidence” in his chief of staff and his communications director.
Conway told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” Sunday that Trump continues to have confidence in chief of staff John Kelly and Communications Director Hope Hicks despite reports that the chief of staff expressed a willingness to resign after allegations of domestic abuse surfaced against the White House staff secretary, Rob Porter, who has since resigned.
“I spoke with the president last night about this very issue and he wanted me to reemphasize to everyone, including this morning, that he has full confidence in his current chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, and that he is not actively searching for replacements.”
“He also has full confidence in Hope Hicks, his communications director and long-serving aide,” Conway said. “There are a lot of I think unsourced and thinly-sourced stories out there, but when it comes to those two individuals, the president … has full confidence in their performance,” she continued during an interview on “This Week.”
Porter’s departure came as he denied the multiple allegations of domestic violence from two ex-wives.
As news initially broke of the claims, Kelly issued a statement calling Porter “a man of true integrity and honor” while making no mention of the alleged victims.
Later, on Wednesday evening, Kelly issued a new statement saying he was “shocked by the new allegations,” adding “there is no place for domestic violence in our society.”
Multiple sources told ABC News that senior members of Trump’s administration knew for months that there was a personal issue haunting Porter. However, although senior White House staff were aware of the domestic abuse allegations by Porter’s ex-wives, they did not know the full extent of the claims, senior administration officials said.
Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said Thursday that Kelly did not have “detailed updates about what may or may not have been alleged.”
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