Top Trump assistant fired for 'unspecified security issue,' immediately joins 2020 campaign

John McEntee.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

John McEntee, President Trump's personal assistant, "was escorted out of the White House" on Monday, The Wall Street Journal reports, fired amid "an unspecified security issue." McEntee's ouster was apparently sudden, as he was "removed from the White House grounds ... without being allowed to collect his belongings," the Journal reports.

The Journal reported McEntee's dismissal Tuesday. Immediately following the news, a release from the Trump 2020 campaign revealed that McEntee had joined the effort as a senior adviser for campaign operations. The campaign release made no mention of McEntee's unceremonious departure from the White House.

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As MSNBC's Chris Hayes notes, that McEntee was reportedly escorted off the White House premises "is no joke" given his stature as a close confidante to the president. The White House declined to comment on McEntee's departure to the Journal, saying it would not comment "on personnel issues." Read more about McEntee at The Wall Street Journal.

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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.