Sam Clovis, top Trump campaign official ensnared in Mueller's probe, is leaving the Trump administration
Sam Clovis, the former Trump campaign national co-chairman who withdrew his nomination to be the U.S. Department of Agriculture's top scientist last fall after he became embroiled in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, is leaving the USDA, effective Friday. Clovis had been serving most recently as the USDA's White House liaison, and his going-away party was Thursday night, Politico reports.
Before President Trump nominated Clovis to be the USDA's undersecretary for research, education, and economics, despite an acknowledged lack of science background, he had led the Trump transition team's USDA group. On the campaign, Clovis had supervised George Papadopoulos, the policy adviser whose loose lips sparked the Russia investigation; Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to charges of lying to the FBI about his communications with Russian officials. Clovis "is a good man and a patriot who for decades has served his country admirably," a USDA spokesman said. "We wish him well on his future endeavors back home in Iowa."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The world’s most romantic hotelsThe Week Recommends Treetop hideaways, secluded villas and a woodland cabin – perfect settings for Valentine’s Day
-
Democrats push for ICE accountabilityFeature U.S. citizens shot and violently detained by immigration agents testify at Capitol Hill hearing
-
The price of sporting gloryFeature The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics kicked off this week. Will Italy regret playing host?
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
