Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that the White House could’ve handled the situation with a former White House aide accused of domestic violence.
“As I said, and as the White House has said, I think the White House could’ve handled this better, and I still feel that way. That being said, any more counsel I have on this I’ll share with the president of the United States,” Mr. Pence said at an event in Washington.
When asked if Chief of Staff John Kelly should be terminated over the mishandling of the situation, Mr. Pence emphasized Mr. Kelly’s military service and the loss of his son, who was also a service member.
“There are very few Americans, or American families, that have served this nation more honorably or sacrificed more for this country than the family of Gen. John Kelly,” Mr. Pence said.
He did say, however, that he plans on working with Mr. Kelly for “many months to come.”
The controversy surrounding the employment of former White House aide Rob Porter, who was accused of domestic violence by two former spouses, has engulfed the administration for over a week. The administration has failed to give a consistent timeline of what they knew about the allegations or how Mr. Porter continued to work in the White House on an interim security clearance for a year.
The FBI denied Mr. Porter a permanent clearance after the allegations surfaced.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.