Trump aides have no idea why suspected leaker Kellyanne Conway is still in the White House
Kellyanne Conway's husband very publicly detests President Trump. She's also a notorious leaker, according to many, many White House sources.
Even with Trump's heavy-handed firing power at the ready, he's kept Conway onboard as his counselor since the beginnings of his presidency. And it's left several White House alumni "flummoxed," as The Atlantic's Peter Nicholas puts it.
Conway is part of a rare club in the Trump White House. Trump has lost 15 Cabinet members compared to former President Barack Obama's seven at this point in their presidencies, reportedly ousting some of his loyalists for something as simple as having an accent. But Conway, along with star loyalist Vice President Mike Pence, have hung on.
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.
Trump, of course, can't fire Pence — though judging by the vice president's excessive kowtowing comments, you'd think he could. Conway, meanwhile, is under no so such assurances. But she's still survived gaffes such as the "Bowling Green massacre" because "more than anyone not named Trump, Conway is the White House's public face," Nicholas writes. She's unafraid to appear on TV and spin Trump's confusing comments into a net positive, something ex-Trump staffer Cliff Sims told The Atlantic "will never go out of style in the Trump White House."
It also doesn't seem to hurt that Conway has never been caught calling Trump names. Ex-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's use of "moron," and former Counsel Don McGahn's reported references to Trump as "King Kong" may have something to do with their chopped tenures, The Atlantic says. Read more at The Atlantic.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
How Mike Johnson is rendering the House ‘irrelevant’Talking Points Speaker has put the House on indefinite hiatus
-
Lazarus: Harlan Coben’s ‘embarrassingly compelling’ thrillerThe Week Recommends Bill Nighy and Sam Claflin play father-and-son psychiatrists in this ‘precision-engineered’ crime drama
-
Dutch center-left rises in election as far-right fallsSpeed Read The country’s other parties have ruled against forming a coalition
-
Judge rules US attorney ‘unlawfully serving’Speed Read Bill Essayli had been serving in the role without Senate confirmation
-
Trump ends Asia trip with Xi meeting, nuke threatSpeed Read Trump had spent the last six days in Asia
-
What does history say about Trump’s moves in Latin America?Today's Big Question ‘Bitter memories’ surface as the US targets Venezuela
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Is the ceasefire in Gaza really working?Today's Big Question Neither Israel and Hamas has an interest in a full return to hostilities but ‘brutally simple arithmetic’ in region may scupper peace plan long-term
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
No Kings rally: What did it achieve?Feature The latest ‘No Kings’ march has become the largest protest in U.S. history
