McEntee (Who Couldn’t Get Clearance) And Hicks Returning To White House

Donald Trump has rehired John McEntee a former aide who was fired and escorted from the White House grounds nearly two years ago after he failed to pass a background check.

McEntee previously served as Trump’s personal assistant and will return to the White House as head of presidential personnel, the Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey reported.

It’s unclear if McEntee can pass a background check now. However, he previously failed to obtain security clearance due in part to an online gambling habit, according to a Wall Street Journal report at the time.

McEntee isn’t the only former Trump administration official who is returning.

Hope Hicks, who most recently served as White House communications director before leaving in March 2018, will return to the White House as a counselor to the president and special adviser, the New York Times reported. That’s the same title Kellyanne Conway has.

Hicks left the White House because she was no longer happy in the role, according to a New York Times report at the time.

After her departure, she made headlines during a House investigation into Trump’s abuse of power when she refused to answer even basic questions from members of Congress, including where her desk was in the White House and if she spoke with Trump during lunchtime.

It also came to light after her departure that Hicks was intimately involved in Trump’s effort to pay off porn actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

However, it seems she wasn’t happy after she left the White House to be an executive vice president of Fox.

Hicks moved to Hollywood, where she reportedly felt like a pariah, according to a report from Axios. Hicks even complained, “No one on the cast of Modern Family wants to see me.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.