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.