Kellyanne Conway, one of President Donald Trump’s closest aides and his former campaign manager, will be leaving the White House at the end of the month to focus on her family.
Conway is a slated speaker at this week’s Republican national convention and one of the administration’s most recognizable figures. She has served inside the White House as counselor to the president since Trump’s inauguration and took a leading role on political matters as well as policies like the opioid epidemic.
Her tenure has been personified by unbreakable advocacy for the president but also a share of head-scratching proclamations. She coined the term “alternative facts” early on in the White House and, early in the COVID-19 crisis, challenged reporters who wondered if the White House had the pandemic under control.
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Her devotion to Trump seemed matched only by her husband’s hatred for him—creating the type of marital drama that seemed almost voyeuristic in the Washington, D.C., sense. George Conway has been a prominent fixture in Republican politics for decades. But early on in the Trump administration he began letting it be known that he found the president both ridiculous and—over time—patently unsuitable for the job. George Conway eventually joined the group The Lincoln Project, a Never Trump venture to prevent the president’s re-election. He announced on Sunday night that he would be leaving that too.
The Conways did participate in a Washington Post profile of their marriage, during which Kellyanne attempted to go off the record to talk about her own husband. But, largely, they insisted that there was a line of demarcation between their political pursuits and their private life.
“We disagree about plenty,” Conway said of her husband in a statement, “but we are united on what matters most: the kids. Our four children are teens and ‘tweens starting a new academic year in the middle school and high school that will be conducted remotely from home for a least a few months. As millions of parents nationwide know, kids ‘doing school from home’ requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times.”
“This is completely my choice and my voice,” the statement added. “In time, I will announce future plans. For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama.”
The statement came hours after one of Conway’s daughters, Claudia, 15, said that her mom’s career had “ruined [her] life.” The teenager’s social media posts have attracted a lot of attention over the past months as she spoke out about her relationship with her parents and her strong disagreement with her mom’s politics.
On Saturday night, the teen wrote: “heartbreaking that she continues to go down that path after years of watching her children suffer. selfish. it’s all about money and fame, ladies and gentlemen.” Claudia also said she was “officially” seeking emancipation from her parents, and that she’d be taking a “mental health break” from social media.
However, following her parents’ shock announcements, Claudia returned to social media to post a TikTok of herself saying: “Look at what I did, ladies and gentlemen.”
Mrs Conway, who is still scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, informed Trump of her decision to quit on Sunday night. According to her statement, she will leave the Trump administration at the end of August.
