One day after getting escorted off the White House grounds by security, John McEntee was hired by President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.
A longtime personal aide to the president, McEntee was fired from the White House on Monday over an investigation led by the Department of Homeland Security into “serious financial crimes,” according to CNN.
But rather than leave the president’s inner-circle in the vein of other caricatures ousted from the Trump administration—former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault was also reportedly removed from the White House by security—McEntee parlayed over to the president’s 2020 campaign as a senior advisor.
The campaign announced on Tuesday the hiring of both McEntee and Katrina Pierson, a former spokesperson for Trump during the 2016 election.
“As we build out our operations for the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 reelection campaign, we are pleased to welcome back two outstanding members of our 2016 team,” the campaign’s manager Brad Parscale said in a statement. “We need the help of proven leaders such as Katrina and John to promote the president’s growing portfolio of achievements across the country.”
Those “proven leaders” include an advisor who is under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security… and who was unable to obtain security clearances while at the White House.
Sources told CNN that McEntee failed to secure a full security clearance, echoing the Trump administration’s ongoing staffing problems related to national security. After staff secretary Rob Porter was fired in February over allegations of domestic abuse, several officials unable to obtain security clearances were released by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
