Less than three months into the Trump administration, a top White House aide is leaving President Trump’s inner circle to help with outside groups to support his agenda.
White House deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh, a close ally of Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, is departing. Politico first reported the move Thursday, saying her departure has the blessing of top White House officials.
Ms. Walsh is expected to work as an adviser for a pro-Trump group, America First Policies, as well as working with the Republican National Committee, where she served previously.
The move comes after administration officials expressed frustration that Mr. Trump’s efforts to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare lacked grass-roots support to pressure lawmakers in their districts. The legislation fell apart in the House last week, facing opposition from a group of conservative lawmakers, moderate Republicans and all Democrats.
America First Policies was hit last week by the departure of Rick Gates, a top aide to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, in the wake of amid more questions about his alleged ties to Russia.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.