The White House is losing one of its few top women


One of the highest women in the White House, deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh, is leaving her post in order to boost a floundering pro-President Trump political group.
Walsh is headed to America First Policies, which is already staffed with several people who worked on the Trump campaign and has been having a hard time doing what it's supposed to do — supporting Trump's agenda (one official told Politico the group "has turned into an embarrassment"). After the health-care vote was scrapped last Friday, Walsh went to Jared Kushner, Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, and Reince Priebus, White House chief of staff, to discuss moving from the White House to work on outside efforts for Trump. Kushner, Priebus, and chief strategist Steve Bannon all thought this made sense and gave their approval, officials told Politico.
White House officials say this isn't part of a shake-up in the West Wing, but rather a reboot. Walsh served as chief of staff at the Republican National Committee while Priebus was chairman, and she was one of many RNC staffers he brought to the White House with him. She has been described by a Trump associate as being "Reince's political secret service" and his "eyes and ears" inside the White House, and an official told Politico not to take her departure as a sign that Priebus will be next.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
3 killed in Trump’s second Venezuelan boat strike
Legal experts said Trump had no authority to order extrajudicial executions of noncombatants
-
September 16 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include bad news for inflation, Brian Kilmeade's solution, and Kash Patel's dinner order
-
Fit for a king: must-visit palaces around the UK
The Week Recommends Our pick of the nation’s most magnificent residences for nobles and royals
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants