Madeleine Westerhout

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Madeleine Westerhout

|image = Madeleine Westerhout.jpg

|office = Director of Oval Office Operations

|president = Donald Trump

|term_start = February 2, 2019

|term_end = August 29, 2019

|predecessor = Jordan Karem

|successor = Nick Luna

|office1 = Personal Secretary to the President

|president1 = Donald Trump

|term_start1 = January 20, 2017

|term_end1 = February 2, 2019

|predecessor1 = Ferial Govashiri

|successor1 = Molly Michael

|birth_name = Madeleine Elise Westerhout

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1990|10|8}}

|birth_place = Newport Beach, California, U.S.

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Republican

|education = College of Charleston (BA)

}}

Madeleine Elise Westerhout (born October 8, 1990) is the former Director of Oval Office Operations at the White House from February to August 2019.{{cite news|title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-appointments-executive-office-president-4/|date=February 2, 2019|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|language=en}} Prior to that, from 2017 to 2019, she served as the Personal Secretary to U.S. President Donald Trump. 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.{{Cite web |last=Lippman |first=Daniel |date=August 30, 2019 |url= https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/30/trumps-personal-assistant-fired-ivanka-tiffany-1479226 |title=Trump's personal assistant fired after comments about Ivanka, Tiffany|website=Politico}}{{Cite news|date=August 30, 2019|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-says-ousted-personal-assistant-made-hurtful-comments-about-his-family-to-reporters/2019/08/30/6b361d9a-cb72-11e9-be05-f76ac4ec618c_story.html|title=Trump says ousted personal assistant made 'hurtful' comments about his family to reporters|newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Early life

Westerhout was born in Newport Beach, California, and grew up primarily in Irvine, California. She studied at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, receiving a BA degree in political science in 2013.{{cite news|last1=Gillespie|first1=Erin|title=College of Charleston grad named special assistant to president in Trump administration|url=http://www.postandcourier.com/news/college-of-charleston-grad-named-special-assistant-to-president-in/article_c4452b3c-df26-11e6-bff8-733bf32dcce3.html|work=Post and Courier|date=January 20, 2017|language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/30/heres-how-much-president-trumps-26-year-old-assistant-makes.html|title=Here's how much President Trump's 26-year-old assistant makes|first=Marguerite|last=Ward|website=CNBC |date=June 30, 2017}} After her graduation, she moved to Washington, D.C., and worked as a fitness trainer in the Pure Barre gym of Carrie Rezabek Dorr.{{cite news|title='Greeter Girl' Revealed: Ex-Fitness Instructor Is Mystery Woman Escorting Bigwigs Through Trump Tower|url=http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/20517-greeter-girl-revealed-ex-fitness-instructor-is-mystery-woman-escorting-bigwigs-through-trump-tower|work=Inside Edition|date=December 16, 2016|language=en}}

Career

In the 2012 presidential election, Westerhout worked for the campaign of Mitt Romney. In 2013, she worked for candidate John R. 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 and the Republican Party Organizing Committee. From January 2015, she worked as an assistant to RNC chief of staff Katie Walsh.{{cite news|last1=Kopan|first1=Tal |date=December 15, 2016 |title=Meet the Trump Tower gatekeeper|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/15/politics/donald-trump-tower/|publisher=CNN}}

On January 19, 2017, Donald Trump's transition team announced that Westerhout would serve as special assistant and executive assistant to the President.{{cite news|last1=Nussbaum|first1=Matthew |date=January 19, 2017 |title=Trump team announces additional White House hires|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-transition-white-house-hires-233863|work=Politico}} A June 2018 release of White House salary data revealed that Westerhout was paid US$130,000 for the position.{{Cite web|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/07012018-report-final.pdf|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|title=Executive Office of the President Annual Report To Congress On White House Office Personnel}} She was promoted to Director of Oval Office Operations on February 2, 2019,{{Cite web|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-appointments-executive-office-president-4/|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President}} at US$145,000 annually.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-personal-assistant-leaves-madeleine-westerhout-resigns-abruptly-today-2019-08-30/ |title=Trump addresses abrupt departure of his personal assistant Madeleine Westerhout |first=Arden |last=Farhi |date=August 30, 2019 |work=CBS News |access-date=2024-05-13}} Trump often referred to her as "my beauty."

In February 2019, Westerhout called a leak of Trump's schedule a "disgraceful breach of trust."{{cite web |last=Boyer |first=Dave |date=February 3, 2019 |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/3/madeleine-westerhout-trump-secretary-blast-leak-pr/ |title=Trump's secretary blasts leak of president's private schedule |website=The Washington Times |access-date=May 2, 2019}}

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 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!"{{Cite web|date=August 29, 2019|title=Trump's Tweet re Westerhout Firing|url=https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1167782135786332161|access-date=2020-08-11|website=Twitter|language=en}}

On May 9, 2024, under subpoena, she testified during the Trump hush money case about her time working at the White House,{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/trump-hush-money-trial/prosecutors-call-white-house-aide-madeline-westerhout-110083663?id=110052829|title=Trump trial: Judge, slamming defense, denies 2nd motion for mistrial|author=Katersky, Aaron; Charalambous, Peter; Rubin, Olivia; Bruggeman, Lucien; Reinstein, Julia|language=en-US|publisher=ABC News|date=May 9, 2024|access-date=May 10, 2024}} stating that checks were delivered to the White House by Trump Organization employees to be signed by Trump.{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-hush-money-trial-live-updates-stormy-daniels-resumes-testimony-1898473|title=Trump Hush Money Trial: Judge Denies Modifying Gag Order, Karen McDougal Will Not Testify|author=Backus, Alex; Fung, Katherine|language=en-US|magazine=Newsweek|date=May 9, 2024|access-date=May 10, 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-trial-updates-fired-white-house-aide-madeleine-westerhout-wraps-testimony-as-michael-cohen-expected-to-testify-next-week-175712073.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANv02J09ppJeDuhPlRLVEepvKluDEED9kjjGLIntJe_2vWP4omSytiIJ6ARUlWwsMP32SPRDcpGdBFrPDqaUx7Da-TfVi3M75Cxbw27HB8p8Mj6PZ38cuSBta3LcaEzJhl2cQFu5_9cRuNVXVsnDFyuIYpV-5pxHOmF02h5WS8vc|title=Trump trial updates: Fired White House aide Madeleine Westerhout wraps testimony as Michael Cohen expected to testify next week|first=Andrew|last=Romano|publisher=Yahoo News|date=May 10, 2024|accessdate=May 10, 2024}}

Bibliography

{{Cite book |last=Westerhout |first=Madeleine |year=2020 |title=Off the Record: Picking Up the Pieces After Losing My Dream Job at the White House |location=New York |publisher=Center Street |isbn=978-1-5460-5970-7}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.axios.com/madeleine-westerhout-memoir-6ece687e-1115-4bd4-bdc0-78508f2a1bac.html |title=Exclusive: Madeleine Westerhout to release Oval Office memoir |last=Swan |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Swan |date=March 15, 2020 |website=Axios |access-date=March 16, 2020}}{{Cite book |title=Off the Record: Picking Up the Pieces after Losing My Dream Job at the White House: Westerhout, Madeline: 9781546059707 |isbn=978-1546059707 |last1=Westerhout |first1=Madeleine |year=2020 |publisher=Center Street }}