alternative hiring plan
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.
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.