Rob Porter's abuse scandal is roiling the White House to its core, and the knives are coming out for John Kelly
- The Rob Porter scandal has shaken the White House.
- It appears as if knives are out for chief of staff John Kelly.
- Many questions remain about who knew what and when about Porter, alleged of physically and mentally abusing both of his ex-wives.
- The White House admitted it could've handled its response to the episode better.
The latest White House scandal snowballed into an avalanche, roiling some of the highest-ranking and most prominent West Wing staffers in the process.
The White House initially stood by former staff secretary Rob Porter after he was alleged of physical and mental abuse by both of his ex-wives, one of whom provided photos of a black eye she claimed he gave her. Publicly, the administration even offered rare contrition for how it handled the situation.
"I think it's fair to say that we all could have done better over the last few hours - or last few days - in dealing with this situation," said Raj Shah, the White House deputy press secretary.
But questions abounded as to who knew what - and when - as the White House fumbled its response.
The focus now lies on Porter's inability to obtain a full security clearance and when White House chief of staff John Kelly and other top officials were first made aware of the allegations. Additionally, Porter's exit means one of the most powerful members of the West Wing inner-circle - labeled "indispensable" by one Republican strategist - who was tasked with a broad range of critical responsibilities, will need to be replaced.
Kelly's enemies now want 'to get rid of him'
Porter and Kelly clearly saw eye-to-eye on how to run the White House. But knives starting to come out for Kelly, there's a chance this growing scandal could knock out both the forces many credit with bringing a sense of stability to the administration.
Kelly's "kind of on the hook now already given the controversies from this week," Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak, CEO and founder of the Potomac Strategy Group, told Business Insider. "I think the story is bad, a lot of his enemies are using it against him to try to get rid of him."
In other words, the people "who feel boxed out, feel like they aren't getting the access they want and see him as a problem in that respect," Mackowiak said. "And it sounds like maybe Ivanka is now involved in that because it looks like her role has now been narrowed a bit."
Vanity Fair reported Thursday that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are discussing possible replacements at chief of staff. Trump, the publication reported, was "f------ pissed" that he was not aware of the severity of the allegations against Porter until Ivanka showed him the Daily Mail photos.
Lewandowski reportedly has already called Trump to fire Kelly in the aftermath of the Porter ordeal.
Meanwhile, a source told PBS that White House staffers are surprised and dismayed that Kelly strongly defended Porter initially, before the photos emerged publicly, when he said Porter is "a man of true integrity and honor."
Who knew what, when?
Multiple outlets reported Wednesday that several top officials, including Kelly, were aware of the allegations against Porter for months, though Trump just learned of them this week. The officials were reportedly aware as early as August that the alleged abuse was preventing Porter from obtaining a security clearance.
But no action was taken, and Porter's importance only grew in the administration. CNN reported he was one of a handful of aides who helped draft Trump's State of the Union address.
Multiple high-ranking politicians called for Kelly's ouster as chief of staff.
"If it is true that President Trump's Chief of Staff John Kelly covered up Staff Secretary Rob Porter's record of domestic violence then he should resign immediately," Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich tweeted.
Fellow Democrat Jon Tester told CNN that Kelly "needs to be held accountable" if he's "covering this up."
"He better have a really good reason," Tester said. "Otherwise, he's gone, too."
Mackowiak said it "would be a mistake" to oust Kelly, who he said has "done a great job under very difficult circumstances."
But if Kelly was "presented with really credible information from the FBI that these allegations were correct," that "would be pretty damaging."
How did Porter manage without a permanent security clearance?
After the most recent major staff shakeup over the summer, Porter emerged as a major power player in the administration. Though he had served in the White House since the onset of Trump's term in office, Porter's profile began to rise once Kelly took over, becoming the chief of staff's right hand.
He was tasked with vetting and filtering what reached Trump's desk as well as playing an increasingly large role in the administration's policy agenda. For months, Porter kept a low profile in a White House filled with outsize personalities, though roughly a half-dozen former Senate colleagues told Business Insider in September that many on Capitol Hill were thrilled that Porter was working within the administration.
"Porter had really made himself fairly indispensable," Mackowiak said. "And they really didn't want to lose an indispensable person."
That appeared to play a role in the administration's strong defense of Porter after the allegations - which Porter has denied - first emerged.
But for as indispensable as Porter had become, his inability to obtain a full security clearance left observers stunned that he was able to remain in that position - one which involves frequent viewing of classified material.
"The fact that the staff secretary, the person that sees every piece of paper that goes the president, from kids' letters to top-secret reports, has been working without a clearance is astonishing," Reed Galen, deputy campaign manager for Republican Sen. John McCain's 2008 campaign, told Business Insider.
He said the fact Porter had remained in his position was proof the Trump White House was still "acting as if they're still running a family owned real estate business."
Shah, the White House spokesman, said Porter was operating on an interim clearance while his background investigation was ongoing. Still, the idea that Porter could go about his job on an interim clearance left Mackowiak puzzled.
"So, was he seeing top secret material while only holding an interim clearance or not holding a clearance at all?" he said. "I don't know how that would've worked."
Will they be able to replace Porter without losing a step? Rick Tyler, former communications director for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign, thinks so.
"They will find someone else equally qualified who does not have a record of mental or physical abuse," he said, "which is what they should have done in the first place."
The White House admits it could've done a better job
During what has become a typically untypical White House press briefing, Shah had to answer for staffers such as White House communications director Hope Hicks and White House counsel Donald McGahn, who find themselves caught up in the ordeal as well.
Shah was asked in rapid fire succession about whether the president still had confidence in any of these officials.
Kelly?
"Yes," Shah said.
McGahn?
"Absolutely."
Hicks?
"Yeah, absolutely."
Everyone?
Shah reiterated his earlier points.
"The president has confidence in his chief of staff, counsel, and communications director," he said.