Madeleine Elise Westerhout (born October 8, 1990) is the former Director of Oval Office Operations 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 ...

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, 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, 197 ...

. 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, 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, ...

, 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 Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

of Mitt Romney. In 2013, she worked for candidate John Kuhn in the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...

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 an ...

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

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

Early life and education

Career

Bibliography

See also

References