Madeleine Westerhout
Director of Oval Office Operations
In office
February 2, 2019 – August 29, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJordan Karem
Succeeded byNick Luna
Personal Secretary to the President
In office
January 20, 2017 – February 2, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byFerial Govashiri
Succeeded byMolly Michael
Personal details
Born
Madeleine Elise Westerhout

(1990-10-08) October 8, 1990 (age 33)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationCollege of Charleston (BA)

Madeleine Elise Westerhout (born October 8, 1990) is the former Director of Oval Office Operations at the White House from February to August 2019.[1] Prior to that, from 2017 to 2019, she served as the Personal Secretary to U.S. President Donald Trump. She was fired on August 29, 2019, after Trump learned she had shared details of the Trump family and Oval Office operations with reporters during an off the record dinner earlier that month.[2][3]

Early life and education

Westerhout was born in Newport Beach, California, and spent most of her time growing up in Irvine, California. She studied at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, receiving a BA degree in political science in 2013.[4][5] After her graduation, she moved to Washington, D.C., and worked as a fitness trainer in the Pure Barre gym of Carrie Rezabek Dorr.[6]

Career

In the 2012 presidential election, Westerhout worked for the campaign of Mitt Romney. In 2013, she worked for candidate John Kuhn in the Republican primary for the special election in South Carolina's first congressional district. Later that year, she interned for Congressman John Campbell. In the summer of 2013, Westerhout began working for the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party Organizing Committee. From January 2015, she worked as an assistant to RNC chief of staff Katie Walsh.[7]

On January 19, 2017, Donald Trump's transition team announced that Westerhout would serve as special assistant and executive assistant to the President.[8] A June 2018 release of White House salary data revealed that Westerhout was paid US$130,000 for the position.[9] She was promoted to Director of Oval Office Operations on February 2, 2019.[10]

In February 2019, Westerhout called a leak of Trump's schedule a "disgraceful breach of trust."[11]

On August 29, 2019, she was fired after it was revealed that she had shared details about Trump's family and White House operations to reporters - reportedly while intoxicated - at an off-the-record dinner. Politico reported she was fired because she boasted of having a better relationship with Trump than his daughters did, and that she said Trump disliked being photographed with daughter Tiffany Trump because he considered her overweight.[2]

Two days later, Trump posted a tweet in which he cited Westerhout's "fully enforceable confidentiality agreement" but clarified that Westerhout "is a very good person and I don't think there would ever be reason to use it." In the same tweet, Trump claimed that Westerhout "called me yesterday to apologize, had a bad night. I fully understood and forgave her!"[12]

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov. February 2, 2019 – via National Archives.
  2. ^ a b Lippman, Daniel (August 30, 2019). "Trump's personal assistant fired after comments about Ivanka, Tiffany". Politico.
  3. ^ "Trump says ousted personal assistant made 'hurtful' comments about his family to reporters". The Washington Post. August 30, 2019.
  4. ^ Gillespie, Erin (January 20, 2017). "College of Charleston grad named special assistant to president in Trump administration". Post and Courier.
  5. ^ Ward, Marguerite (June 30, 2017). "Here's how much President Trump's 26-year-old assistant makes". CNBC.
  6. ^ "'Greeter Girl' Revealed: Ex-Fitness Instructor Is Mystery Woman Escorting Bigwigs Through Trump Tower". Inside Edition. December 16, 2016.
  7. ^ Kopan, Tal (December 15, 2016). "Meet the Trump Tower gatekeeper". CNN.
  8. ^ Nussbaum, Matthew (January 19, 2017). "Trump team announces additional White House hires". Politico.
  9. ^ "Executive Office of the President Annual Report To Congress On White House Office Personnel" (PDF). whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  10. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  11. ^ Boyer, Dave (February 3, 2019). "Trump's secretary blasts leak of president's private schedule". The Washington Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  12. ^ "Trump's Tweet re Westerhout Firing". Twitter. August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  13. ^ Swan, Jonathan (March 15, 2020). "Exclusive: Madeleine Westerhout to release Oval Office memoir". Axios. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  14. ^ Westerhout, Madeleine (2020). Off the Record: Picking Up the Pieces after Losing My Dream Job at the White House: Westerhout, Madeline: 9781546059707. Center Street. ISBN 978-1546059707.
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