Another important Trump official is leaving. Not only can the president not attract people to fill the open positions, people have been abandoning the White House at near warp speed. What do they know that the rest of America does not?
Pentagon spokesperson Dana White has announced that she will be leaving, according to CNN:
‘I appreciate the opportunity afforded to me by this administration to serve alongside Secretary Mattis, our Service members and all the civilians who support them. It has been my honor and privilege. Stay safe and God bless.’
She will be leaving along with Secretary of Defense James Mattis. However, the reason for her departure may be an internal investigation into her actions by the Defense Department.
Her department’s inspector general is investigating allegations by members of her staff that she retaliated against them after she asked them to run personal errands for her. She also asked members of her staff to handle business matters for her.
White asked her staff to pick up her dry cleaning, handle her mortgage paperwork, and pick up her prescriptions. If people complained about these tasks, she transferred them. CNN reported on this in August 2018.
‘This is an ongoing review about which we cannot comment.’
‘A DoD official may not direct or request subordinates to use official time to perform any activities other than official activities.’
White was a Trump administration political appointee. She came to the Pentagon as its chief spokesperson in April 2017. The spokeswoman was a direct report to General Mattis.
White had been giving regular Pentagon televised press briefings. However, they stopped, and she has not held one since last May. When reporters asked why she was absent, the White House told them it wanted to see more briefings by senior uniformed officers. It was not clear whether her investigation influenced her briefings.
A month after her last televised press conference Mattis chose a two-star major general in the Marine Corps, Burke Whitman, to speak for the Defense Department.
Whitman was a controversial choice to replace White. The military is supposed to remain apolitical. Normally, a member of the military would not speak for the department. As such, reporters will not be able to question him about the political side of departmental issues.
White’s last day was December 31st. When, General Mattis told the president he was resigning in two months, to allow a smooth transition into this really large job, Trump was irate and told him to leave at the end of the year.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
