Madeleine Westerhout

American public official (born 1990)

Madeleine Westerhout

Director of Oval Office Operations
In office
February 2, 2019 – August 29, 2019
President| Donald Trump
Preceded by| Jordan Karem
Succeeded by| Nick Luna
Personal Secretary to the President
In office
January 20, 2017 – February 2, 2019
President| Donald Trump
Preceded by| Ferial Govashiri
Succeeded by| Molly Michael
Personal details
Born|

Madeleine Elise Westerhout

(1990-10-08) October 8, 1990 (age 34)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Political party| Republican
Education| College 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

[edit]

Westerhout was born in Newport Beach, California, and grew up primarily 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

[edit]

In the 2012 presidential election, Westerhout worked for the campaign of Mitt Romney. In 2013, she worked for candidate John R. 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] at US$145,000 annually.[11] Trump often referred to her as "my beauty."[11]

In February 2019, Westerhout called a leak of Trump's schedule a "disgraceful breach of trust."[12]

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!"[13]

On May 9, 2024, under subpoena, she testified during the Trump hush money case about her time working at the White House,[14] stating that checks were delivered to the White House by Trump Organization employees to be signed by Trump.[15][16]

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Westerhout, Madeleine (2020). Off the Record: Picking Up the Pieces After Losing My Dream Job at the White House. New York: Center Street. ISBN 978-1-5460-5970-7.[17][18]

## See also

[edit]

* United States portal
* Politics portal

* Timeline of the Donald Trump presidency (2017 Q1)
* Timeline of the Donald Trump presidency (2019 Q2)
* Timeline of the Donald Trump presidency (2019 Q3)

## References

[edit]

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. ^ a b Farhi, Arden (August 30, 2019). "Trump addresses abrupt departure of his personal assistant Madeleine Westerhout". CBS News. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
12. ^ Boyer, Dave (February 3, 2019). "Trump's secretary blasts leak of president's private schedule". The Washington Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
13. ^ "Trump's Tweet re Westerhout Firing". Twitter. August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
14. ^ Katersky, Aaron; Charalambous, Peter; Rubin, Olivia; Bruggeman, Lucien; Reinstein, Julia (May 9, 2024). "Trump trial: Judge, slamming defense, denies 2nd motion for mistrial". ABC News. Retrieved May 10, 2024.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
15. ^ Backus, Alex; Fung, Katherine (May 9, 2024). "Trump Hush Money Trial: Judge Denies Modifying Gag Order, Karen McDougal Will Not Testify". Newsweek. Retrieved May 10, 2024.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
16. ^ Romano, Andrew (May 10, 2024). "Trump trial updates: Fired White House aide Madeleine Westerhout wraps testimony as Michael Cohen expected to testify next week". Yahoo News. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
17. ^ Swan, Jonathan (March 15, 2020). "Exclusive: Madeleine Westerhout to release Oval Office memoir". Axios. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
18. ^ 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.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Madeleine Westerhout at Wikimedia Commons

* v
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First Trump administration personnel

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Cabinet and cabinet-level

|  Office|  Name|  Term|  Office|  Name|  Term

|
|
|
|
|

Secretary of State|  Mike Pompeo|  2018–2021|  Secretary of Treasury|  Steven Mnuchin|  2017–2021
Secretary of Defense|  Christopher C. Miller (acting)|  2020–2021|  Attorney General|  Jeffrey A. Rosen (acting)|  2020–2021
Secretary of the Interior|  David Bernhardt|  2019–2021|  Secretary of Agriculture|  Sonny Perdue|  2017–2021
Secretary of Commerce|  Wilbur Ross|  2017–2021|  Secretary of Labor|  Eugene Scalia|  2019–2021
Secretary of Health and
Human Services|  Alex Azar|  2018–2021|  Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development|  Ben Carson|  2017–2021
Secretary of Transportation|  Steven G. Bradbury (acting)|  2021–2021|  Secretary of Energy|  Dan Brouillette|  2019–2021
Secretary of Education|  Mick Zais (acting)|  2021–2021|  Secretary of Veterans Affairs|  Robert Wilkie|  2018–2021
Secretary of Homeland Security|  Pete Gaynor (acting)|  2021–2021| | |
Vice President|  Mike Pence|  2017–2021|  White House Chief of Staff|  Mark Meadows|  2020–2021
Director of the Office of Management and
Budget|  Russell Vought|  2020–2021|  Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency|  Andrew R. Wheeler|  2019–2021
Ambassador to the United Nations|  Kelly Craft|  2019–2021|  Administrator of the Small Business Administration|  Jovita Carranza|  2020–2021
Trade Representative|  Robert Lighthizer|  2017–2021|  Director of National Intelligence|  John Ratcliffe|  2020–2021
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency|  Gina Haspel|  2018–2021| | |

Below solid line: Held Cabinet-level rank although not automatically part of the Cabinet. See also: Cabinet of Donald Trump

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Executive Office of the President

|  Office|  Name|  Term|  Office|  Name|  Term

|
|
|
|
|

White House Chief of Staff|  Reince Priebus|  2017|  National Security Advisor|  Michael Flynn|  2017
|  John F. Kelly|  2017–19| |  H. R. McMaster|  2017–18
|  Mick Mulvaney|  2019–20| |  John Bolton|  2018–19
|  Mark Meadows|  2020–21| |  Robert C. O'Brien|  2019–21
Principal Deputy Chief of Staff|  Katie Walsh|  2017|  Deputy National Security Advisor|  K. T. McFarland|  2017
|  Kirstjen Nielsen|  2017| |  Ricky L. Waddell|  2017–18
|  James W. Carroll|  2017–18| |  Mira Ricardel|  2018
|  Zachary Fuentes|  2018–19| |  Charles Kupperman|  2019
|  Emma Doyle|  2019–20| |  Matthew Pottinger|  2019–21
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy|  Rick Dearborn|  2017–18|  Homeland Security Advisor|  Tom Bossert|  2017–18
|  Chris Liddell|  2018–21| |  Doug Fears|  2018–19
Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations|  Joe Hagin|  2017–18| |  Peter J. Brown|  2019–20
|  Daniel Walsh|  2018–19| |  Julia Nesheiwat|  2020–21
|  Anthony M. Ornato|  2019–21|  Dep. Natl. Security Advisor, Strategy|  Dina Powell|  2017–18
Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications|  Bill Shine|  2018–19| |  Nadia Schadlow|  2018
|  Dan Scavino|  2020–21|  Dep. Natl. Security Advisor, Middle East and North African Affairs|  Victoria Coates|  2019–20
Counselor to the President|  Kellyanne Conway|  2017–20|  White House Communications Director|  Sean Spicer|  2017
|  Steve Bannon|  2017| |  Michael Dubke|  2017
|  Johnny DeStefano|  2018–19| |  Anthony Scaramucci|  2017
|  Hope Hicks|  2020–21| |  Hope Hicks|  2017–18
|  Derek Lyons|  2020–21| |  Bill Shine|  2018–19
Senior Advisor, Strategic Planning|  Jared Kushner|  2017–21| |  Stephanie Grisham|  2019–20
Senior Advisor, Policy|  Stephen Miller|  2017–21|  White House Press Secretary|  Sean Spicer|  2017
Senior Advisor, Economic Issues|  Kevin Hassett|  2020| |  Sarah Huckabee Sanders|  2017–19
Advisor|  Ivanka Trump|  2017–21| |  Stephanie Grisham|  2019–20
Director, Public Liaison|  George Sifakis|  2017| |  Kayleigh McEnany|  2020–21
|  Johnny DeStefano|  2017–18|  Deputy Press Secretary|  Sarah Huckabee Sanders|  2017
|  Justin R. Clark|  2018| |  Raj Shah|  2017–19
|  Steve Munisteri|  2018–19| |  Hogan Gidley|  2019–20
|  Timothy Pataki|  2019–21| |  Brian R. Morgenstern|  2020–21
Director, Intergovernmental Affairs|  Justin R. Clark|  2017–18|  Director, Strategic Communications|  Hope Hicks|  2017
|  Douglas Hoelscher|  2019–21| |  Mercedes Schlapp|  2017–19
Director, National Economic Council|  Gary Cohn|  2017–18| |  Alyssa Farah|  2020
|  Larry Kudlow|  2018–21|  Director, Social Media|  Dan Scavino|  2017–19
Chair, Council of Economic Advisers|  Kevin Hassett|  2017–19|  Director, Legislative Affairs|  Marc Short|  2017–18
|  Tomas J. Philipson|  2019–20| |  Shahira Knight|  2018–19
|  Tyler Goodspeed|  2020–21| |  Eric Ueland|  2019–20
Chair, Domestic Policy Council|  Andrew Bremberg|  2017–19| |  Amy Swonger|  2020–21
|  Joe Grogan|  2019–20|  Director, Political Affairs|  Bill Stepien|  2017–18
|  Brooke Rollins|  2020–21| |  Brian Jack|  2019–21
Director, National Trade Council|  Peter Navarro|  2017–21|  Director, Presidential Personnel|  Johnny DeStefano|  2017–18
White House Counsel|  Don McGahn|  2017–18| |  Sean E. Doocey|  2018–20
|  Emmet Flood|  2018| |  John McEntee|  2020–21
|  Pat Cipollone|  2018–21|  Director, Management & Administration|  Marcia L. Kelly|  2017–18
White House Cabinet Secretary|  Bill McGinley|  2017–19| |  Monica J. Block|  2018–21
|  Matthew J. Flynn|  2019|  White House Staff Secretary|  Rob Porter|  2017–18
|  Kristan King Nevins|  2019–21| |  Derek Lyons|  2018–21
Personal Aide to the President|  John McEntee|  2017–18|  Director, Science & Technology Policy|  Kelvin Droegemeier|  2019–21
|  Jordan Karem|  2018|  Chief Technology Officer|  Michael Kratsios|  2019–21
|  Nicholas Luna|  2018–19|  Director, Management & Budget|  Mick Mulvaney|  2017–19
Director, Oval Office Operations|  Keith Schiller|  2017| |  Russell Vought|  2019–21
|  Jordan Karem|  2017–19|  Chief Information Officer|  Suzette Kent|  2018–20
|  Madeleine Westerhout|  2019|  United States Trade Representative|  Robert Lighthizer|  2017–21
|  Nicholas Luna|  2019–21|  Director, National Drug Control Policy|  James W. Carroll|  2018–21
Chief of Staff to the First Lady|  Lindsay Reynolds|  2017–20|  Chair, Council on Environmental Quality|  Mary Neumayr|  2018–21
|  Stephanie Grisham|  2020–21|  Chief of Staff to the Vice President|  Josh Pitcock|  2017
White House Social Secretary|  Anna Cristina Niceta Lloyd|  2017–21| |  Nick Ayers|  2017–19
White House Chief Usher|  Angella Reid†|  2017| |  Marc Short|  2019–21
|  Timothy Harleth|  2017–21|  Special Representative, International Negotiations|  Avi Berkowitz|  2019–21
Physician to the President|  Ronny Jackson†|  2017–18|  COVID-19 Medical Advisors|  Deborah Birx|  2020–21
|  Sean Conley|  2018–21| |  Anthony Fauci|  2020–21
Director, White House Military Office|  Keith Davids|  2017–21| |  Scott Atlas|  2020–21

† Remained from previous administration.

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Office of the Vice President

|  Position|  Appointee

|

Chief of Staff to the Vice President|  Marc Short
Counsel to the Vice President|  Matt Morgan
Counselor to the Vice President|
Assistant to the Vice President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison|  Sarah Makin
Assistant to the Vice President and Director of Communications|  Jarrod Agen
Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President|  Jen Pavlik
Deputy National Security Adviser to the Vice President|
Policy Director to the Second Lady|  Sara Egeland
National Security Adviser to the Vice President|  Andrea Thompson

|  Position|  Appointee

|

Chief of Staff to the Second Lady|  Kristan King Nevins
Director of Administration for the Office of the Vice President|  Mike Boisvenue
Domestic Policy Adviser to the Vice President|  Daris Meeks
Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to the Vice President|
Press Secretary to the Vice President|  Marc Lotte
Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President|
Director of Legislative Affairs|  Jonathan Hiler
Director of Communications for the Second Lady|  Kara Brooks

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Donald Trump's Executive Office of the President

|  Office|  Name|  Term|  Office|  Name|  Term

|
|
|
|
|

White House Chief of Staff|  Reince Priebus|  2017|  National Security Advisor|  Michael Flynn|  2017
|  John F. Kelly|  2017–19| |  H. R. McMaster|  2017–18
|  Mick Mulvaney|  2019–20| |  John Bolton|  2018–19
|  Mark Meadows|  2020–21| |  Robert C. O'Brien|  2019–21
Principal Deputy Chief of Staff|  Katie Walsh|  2017|  Deputy National Security Advisor|  K. T. McFarland|  2017
|  Kirstjen Nielsen|  2017| |  Ricky L. Waddell|  2017–18
|  James W. Carroll|  2017–18| |  Mira Ricardel|  2018
|  Zachary Fuentes|  2018–19| |  Charles Kupperman|  2019
|  Emma Doyle|  2019–20| |  Matthew Pottinger|  2019–21
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy|  Rick Dearborn|  2017–18|  Homeland Security Advisor|  Tom Bossert|  2017–18
|  Chris Liddell|  2018–21| |  Doug Fears|  2018–19
Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations|  Joe Hagin|  2017–18| |  Peter J. Brown|  2019–20
|  Daniel Walsh|  2018–19| |  Julia Nesheiwat|  2020–21
|  Anthony M. Ornato|  2019–21|  Dep. Natl. Security Advisor, Strategy|  Dina Powell|  2017–18
Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications|  Bill Shine|  2018–19| |  Nadia Schadlow|  2018
|  Dan Scavino|  2020–21|  Dep. Natl. Security Advisor, Middle East and North African Affairs|  Victoria Coates|  2019–20
Counselor to the President|  Kellyanne Conway|  2017–20|  White House Communications Director|  Sean Spicer|  2017
|  Steve Bannon|  2017| |  Michael Dubke|  2017
|  Johnny DeStefano|  2018–19| |  Anthony Scaramucci|  2017
|  Hope Hicks|  2020–21| |  Hope Hicks|  2017–18
|  Derek Lyons|  2020–21| |  Bill Shine|  2018–19
Senior Advisor, Strategic Planning|  Jared Kushner|  2017–21| |  Stephanie Grisham|  2019–20
Senior Advisor, Policy|  Stephen Miller|  2017–21|  White House Press Secretary|  Sean Spicer|  2017
Senior Advisor, Economic Issues|  Kevin Hassett|  2020| |  Sarah Huckabee Sanders|  2017–19
Advisor|  Ivanka Trump|  2017–21| |  Stephanie Grisham|  2019–20
Director, Public Liaison|  George Sifakis|  2017| |  Kayleigh McEnany|  2020–21
|  Johnny DeStefano|  2017–18|  Deputy Press Secretary|  Sarah Huckabee Sanders|  2017
|  Justin R. Clark|  2018| |  Raj Shah|  2017–19
|  Steve Munisteri|  2018–19| |  Hogan Gidley|  2019–20
|  Timothy Pataki|  2019–21| |  Brian R. Morgenstern|  2020–21
Director, Intergovernmental Affairs|  Justin R. Clark|  2017–18|  Director, Strategic Communications|  Hope Hicks|  2017
|  Douglas Hoelscher|  2019–21| |  Mercedes Schlapp|  2017–19
Director, National Economic Council|  Gary Cohn|  2017–18| |  Alyssa Farah|  2020
|  Larry Kudlow|  2018–21|  Director, Social Media|  Dan Scavino|  2017–19
Chair, Council of Economic Advisers|  Kevin Hassett|  2017–19|  Director, Legislative Affairs|  Marc Short|  2017–18
|  Tomas J. Philipson|  2019–20| |  Shahira Knight|  2018–19
|  Tyler Goodspeed|  2020–21| |  Eric Ueland|  2019–20
Chair, Domestic Policy Council|  Andrew Bremberg|  2017–19| |  Amy Swonger|  2020–21
|  Joe Grogan|  2019–20|  Director, Political Affairs|  Bill Stepien|  2017–18
|  Brooke Rollins|  2020–21| |  Brian Jack|  2019–21
Director, National Trade Council|  Peter Navarro|  2017–21|  Director, Presidential Personnel|  Johnny DeStefano|  2017–18
White House Counsel|  Don McGahn|  2017–18| |  Sean E. Doocey|  2018–20
|  Emmet Flood|  2018| |  John McEntee|  2020–21
|  Pat Cipollone|  2018–21|  Director, Management & Administration|  Marcia L. Kelly|  2017–18
White House Cabinet Secretary|  Bill McGinley|  2017–19| |  Monica J. Block|  2018–21
|  Matthew J. Flynn|  2019|  White House Staff Secretary|  Rob Porter|  2017–18
|  Kristan King Nevins|  2019–21| |  Derek Lyons|  2018–21
Personal Aide to the President|  John McEntee|  2017–18|  Director, Science & Technology Policy|  Kelvin Droegemeier|  2019–21
|  Jordan Karem|  2018|  Chief Technology Officer|  Michael Kratsios|  2019–21
|  Nicholas Luna|  2018–19|  Director, Management & Budget|  Mick Mulvaney|  2017–19
Director, Oval Office Operations|  Keith Schiller|  2017| |  Russell Vought|  2019–21
|  Jordan Karem|  2017–19|  Chief Information Officer|  Suzette Kent|  2018–20
|  Madeleine Westerhout|  2019|  United States Trade Representative|  Robert Lighthizer|  2017–21
|  Nicholas Luna|  2019–21|  Director, National Drug Control Policy|  James W. Carroll|  2018–21
Chief of Staff to the First Lady|  Lindsay Reynolds|  2017–20|  Chair, Council on Environmental Quality|  Mary Neumayr|  2018–21
|  Stephanie Grisham|  2020–21|  Chief of Staff to the Vice President|  Josh Pitcock|  2017
White House Social Secretary|  Anna Cristina Niceta Lloyd|  2017–21| |  Nick Ayers|  2017–19
White House Chief Usher|  Angella Reid†|  2017| |  Marc Short|  2019–21
|  Timothy Harleth|  2017–21|  Special Representative, International Negotiations|  Avi Berkowitz|  2019–21
Physician to the President|  Ronny Jackson†|  2017–18|  COVID-19 Medical Advisors|  Deborah Birx|  2020–21
|  Sean Conley|  2018–21| |  Anthony Fauci|  2020–21
Director, White House Military Office|  Keith Davids|  2017–21| |  Scott Atlas|  2020–21

† Remained from previous administration.
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