White House counselor Kellyanne Conway would like to make a distinction.
Conway on Monday disputed the idea that Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his brother, Yevgeney Vindman, were fired from their posts at the National Security Council in retaliation for the former's testimony during the House impeachment inquiry. In fact, Conway said President Trump didn't fire them at all. Instead, she said they were simply being reassigned to their original jobs because National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien has wanted to trim down a "bloated staff" since he took over.
Not everyone is buying this, especially because some people believe it's quite clear Trump wanted Vindman's removal to be seen as revenge.
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.
But Conway wants to know why Trump would have waited so long to get rid of impeachment witnesses. "Victory is the ultimate statement," she said, referring to Trump's acquittal in the Senate. "If he wanted to clean house of the testifiers he could have done that quite a while ago."
-
Magazine solutions - December 12, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - December 12, 2025
-
ECHR: is Europe about to break with convention?Today's Big Question Keir Starmer calls for European leaders to ‘push for modernisation of interpretation’ of 75-year-old asylum laws in bid to counter populist right
-
Normalising relations with the Taliban in AfghanistanThe Explainer The regime is coming in from the diplomatic cold, as countries lose hope of armed opposition and seek cooperation on counterterrorism, counter-narcotics and deportation of immigrants
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Trump unveils $12B bailout for tariff-hit farmersSpeed Read The president continues to insist that his tariff policy is working
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey
-
Moscow cheers Trump’s new ‘America First’ strategyspeed read The president’s national security strategy seeks ‘strategic stability’ with Russia
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
-
Boat strike footage rattles some lawmakersSpeed Read ‘Disturbing’ footage of the Sept. 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat also shows the second strike that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
