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Madeleine Elise Westerhout (born October 8, 1990) is the former Director of
Oval Office Operations Immediately outside the Oval Office, Oval Office Operations staff manage the President's personal schedule, private engagements and immediate access to meet with the President of the United States. Though it varies from administration to administra ...
at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 ...
from February to August 2019. Prior to that, from 2017 to 2019, she served as the Personal Secretary to
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
. 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.


Early life and education

Westerhout was born in
Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws v ...
, and spent most of her time growing up in
Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 1971. ...
. She studied at the
College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...
in
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint ...
, receiving a BA degree in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
in 2013. After her graduation, she moved to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, and worked as a fitness trainer in the Pure Barre gym of Carrie Rezabek Dorr.


Career

In the
2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...
, Westerhout worked for the campaign of
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...
. In 2013, she worked for candidate John 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 The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...
and the Republican Party Organizing Committee. From January 2015, she worked as an assistant to RNC chief of staff Katie Walsh. On January 19, 2017, Donald Trump's transition team announced that Westerhout would serve as special assistant and executive assistant to the President. A June 2018 release of White House salary data revealed that Westerhout was paid US$130,000 for the position. She was promoted to Director of Oval Office Operations on February 2, 2019. In February 2019, Westerhout called a leak of Trump's schedule a "disgraceful breach of trust." 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 Tiffany Ariana Trump (born October 13, 1993) is the fourth child of former U.S. President Donald Trump and his only child with his second wife, Marla Maples. She is a legal research assistant at Georgetown University Law Center. Early life a ...
because he considered her overweight. 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!"


Bibliography

*


See also

* 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westerhout, Madeleine 1990 births 20th-century American women 21st-century American women College of Charleston alumni Living people People from Irvine, California People from Newport Beach, California Personal secretaries to the President of the United States Trump administration personnel Washington, D.C., Republicans South Carolina Republicans