Pence calls Biden-endorsing former aide Olivia Troye 'disgruntled.' Fauci says 'she was important to the team.'


There are so many former Trump administration officials who now oppose his bid for re-election, they formed their own organization Thursday. The new group, the Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform, is led by former Homeland Security Department Chief of Staff Miles Taylor and another former senior DHS official, Elizabeth Neumann. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' former chief of staff, Josh Venable, is also a member, as is short-tenured White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci and, according to Taylor, a current senior administration official. There are currently 26 Republicans in the group, Politico reports.
Olivia Troye, Vice President Mike Pence's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser until July, is one of the 26. In ad Thursday for another anti-Trump Republican group, Republican Voters Against Trump, Troye described watching all the work of the coronavirus task force — she was Pence's representative — being undermined by Trump.
When asked about Troye endorsing Trump's Democratic rival, Joe Biden, Pence said "it reads to me like one more disgruntled employee that has decided to play politics during [an] election year." "Disgruntled employee" is Trump's go-to description for the numerous aides and Cabinet secretaries who have sharply criticized him after leaving his administration and it's "such a weird talking point," New York's Josh Barro tweeted. "An organization that produces a sh--load of disgruntled, troublesome ex-employees is ordinarily a poorly run organization."
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.
MSNBC's Chris Hayes asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the coronavirus task force's top infectious disease expert, about Troye's statement on Thursday night, and he said he couldn't discuss the politics. "I interacted with Olivia, I liked her, she was a good person, she was important to the team as a staff person to the coronavirus task force, but you know, I don't know what to make about what has just come out recently," Fauci said. "It would be very difficult for me to comment on that."
"I think the American people should feel confidence in that, that a lot of people are looking at this very, very carefully to make sure that there's not political things that drive what should be scientific considerations," Fauci said. "I'm one of them, and I have a number of colleagues that are with me."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot