Rob Porter

Not to be confused with Rob Portman, for whom Porter has worked.

Rob Porter
White House Staff Secretary
In office January 20, 2017 – February 7, 2018
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Derek Lyons
Preceded by	Joani Walsh
Succeeded by	Derek Lyons
Personal details
Born	Robert Roger Porter (1977-10-25) October 25, 1977 (age 47) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Colbie Holderness ​ ​ (m. 2003; div. 2008)​ Jennie Willoughby ​ ​ (m. 2009; div. 2013)​
Parent(s)	Roger B. Porter Ann Robinson
Education	Harvard University (BA, JD) New College, Oxford (MPhil)

Robert Roger Porter (born October 25, 1977) is an American lawyer and former political aide who served as White House Staff Secretary for President Donald Trump from January 20, 2017, until February 7, 2018. He was previously Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah.

Porter resigned his position as White House Staff Secretary after domestic abuse allegations from both of his former wives came to public attention.^[1]

Early life

Porter was born in Boston and grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.^[2][3] He is the son of Roger B. Porter, a former aide to President George H. W. Bush and currently IBM Professor of Business and Government at Harvard University.^[4] Porter's mother Ann Porter, who died in May 2017, was Faculty Dean of Harvard's Dunster House dormitory.^[5] After graduating from high school, Porter interned in the U.S. Senate.^[3]

Education

He attended Harvard University,^[6] where he studied government and was president of the Harvard Republican Club and chair of Harvard Students for Bush. He graduated in 2002 with membership in Phi Beta Kappa.^[7][8]

After his freshman year at Harvard, he began a two-year stint as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in London.^[3] During the summer of his junior year, Porter completed an internship at the White House and worked for the Domestic Policy Council.^[3] He graduated in 2002.^[3] Porter was a Rhodes Scholar, studying Political Theory at the University of Oxford,^[3] where his thesis research focused on C. S. Lewis prior to graduation in 2005.^[9][10][11] Porter then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 2008 with his Juris Doctor.^[11]

Political career

Porter with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, January 2017

Porter clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.^[2] Porter has worked for Senators Rob Portman and Mike Lee.^[12][6]

In March 2014, Porter began working for Senator Orrin Hatch. Porter was initially appointed Deputy Chief of Staff and was promoted to Chief of Staff in June of that year. Porter left the role in January 2017, to become White House Staff Secretary for President Donald Trump.^[13] Porter resigned from the position on February 7, 2018, following public allegations of spousal abuse from his two ex-wives.^[14] He was succeeded on an acting basis by Derek Lyons.^[15]

Porter and two other former Trump aides criticized Bob Woodward's book Fear: Trump in the White House in September 2018, with Porter defending the president and saying the book was "selective and often misleading" in describing the administration.^[16]

The Wall Street Journal published a pro-Trump opinion article by Porter in March 2019, drawing criticism from his second ex-wife who said Porter must address his personal conduct during marriage before returning to public life.^[17]

The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Porter in August 2019 to testify regarding Trump's actions in response to the Russia investigation,^[18] and the White House directed Porter not to testify in September 2019.^[19]

Personal life

In 2003, Porter married Colbie Holderness;^[20] they divorced in 2008 and she said he had physically abused her multiple times throughout their marriage.^[21][20] In 2009, he married Jennifer Willoughby. After repeated verbal abuse, she obtained a restraining order against him in 2010.^[20] They divorced in 2013.^[20][21]

Porter had been dating former White House Director of Communications Hope Hicks, though their relationship ended by December 2018.^[22]

He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[9] He was raised a member of the church and served a full-time, 24-month mission. He became less active in his church around the time of his second divorce.^[7]

Domestic abuse allegations

In late November 2017, a girlfriend of Porter's alerted her friend, White House Counsel Don McGahn, regarding Porter's "anger problems".^[23] Porter's ex-wife Willoughby had sought and received a three-day emergency protective order against him in June 2010.^[24] Photographs of Holderness with a black eye and her detailed accounts of Porter's alleged abuse were also made public.^[25] Despite their testimonies and evidence presented, Porter denied his ex-wives' allegations and resigned from his staff secretary post after they became public.^[26] Willoughby stated "I don't want to be married to him. I would not recommend anyone to date him or marry him. But I definitely want him in the White House and the position he is in. I think his integrity and ability to do his job is impeccable."^[27]

Porter resigned from the position of White House Staff Secretary on February 7, 2018, following public allegations of spousal abuse from his two ex-wives.^[14] The allegations were supported by photographs of a black eye (which Porter claimed he took) and a restraining order.^[28][29] Porter has said the allegations are false and are part of a "coordinated smear campaign".^[30] The Washington Post reported that White House counsel Don McGahn had known since January 2017 about the allegations Porter's ex-wives made to the FBI, and that Chief of Staff John F. Kelly had known about the allegations since October 2017, still promoting Porter after.^[31] Post reporter Aaron Blake wrote that this development made the allegations a "full-blown scandal".^[32]

Asked by reporters two days after Porter's resignation, President Donald Trump commented, "He said very strongly yesterday that he's innocent so you have to talk to him about that, but we absolutely wish him well, he did a very good job when he was at the White House."^[33] In mid-February 2018, it was reported that Senator Hatch had sent letters to Porter's former wives, apologizing for initially defending Porter in response to their accusations against him.^[34]

Kelly told reporters on March 2, 2018, that he sought Porter's resignation immediately after learning of the accusations on February 6 and regretted his handling of Porter's departure; he also said that contrary to earlier White House statements, Porter's background check had been completed by the FBI, as had been disputed publicly by bureau director, Christopher Wray.^[35]

References

1. Prokopandrew, Andrew (February 8, 2018). "Rob Porter's domestic violence scandal, and what it means for Trump's White House, explained". Vox. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
2. Burr, Thomas (March 27, 2017). "Taking on a 'key nerve center' of the White House". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
3. "Harvard leads way in Rhodes Scholars". Harvard Gazette. December 13, 2001. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
4. "Britain-bound". Harvard Magazine. March 1, 2002. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
5. Bishai, Graham W.; Xiao, Derek G. (May 18, 2017). "College Mourns the Loss of Dunster Faculty Dean Ann Porter". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
6. Burr, Thomas (January 13, 2017). "Trump names Hatch chief of staff as new White House staff secretary". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
7. Rogers, Katie (February 19, 2018). "Rob Porter's Charisma and Ambition Disguised Flare-ups of Anger". New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
8. Dimengo, Katherine (June 3, 2002). "Phi Beta Kappa Members Named, Continuing 212-Year-Old Tradition of Recognition". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
9. Boyd, Hal (February 2, 2017). "Hal Boyd: Meet the Mormon helping run Donald Trump's White House". Deseret News. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
10. Porter, Robert R. (2004). Natural law and the political thought of C.S. Lewis, Thesis (M.Phil.). University of Oxford. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
11. "Revolving Door : Rob Porter Education". OpenSecrets. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
12. Romboy, Dennis (January 13, 2017). "Hatch aide named to key White House job". Deseret News. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
13. "Hatch Applauds Selection of Chief of Staff as Senior White House Aide, Names Senior Counsel as New Chief" (Press release). United States Senator Orrin Hatch. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
14. Jonathan Swan. White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigns amid abuse allegations Archived February 7, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Axios.
15. "White House taps interim replacement for aide accused of abuse". The Hill. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
16. "Former Trump aides break their silence on Woodward book". Politico. September 11, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
17. Karni, Annie (March 21, 2019). "Re-emergence of Trump Aide Accused of Abuse Is 'Deeply Troubling,' Ex-Wife Says". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
18. Davis, Julie Hirschfeld; Haberman, Maggie (August 26, 2019). "Ex-White House Aide Rob Porter Is Subpoenaed in House Impeachment Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
19. Bade, Rachael; Dawsey, Josh (September 16, 2019). "White House blocks two former aides from testifying before House Judiciary Committee". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
20. Liptak, Kevin; Lee, MJ (February 9, 2018). "Former White House aide's ex-wives detail abuse allegations". CNN. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
21. "A timeline of the Rob Porter allegations and White House responses". CBS News. February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
22. "White House aide Rob Porter resigning amid abuse allegations". CBS News. February 8, 2018. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
23. Davis, Julie Hirschfeld; Shear, Michael D. (February 13, 2018). "White House Let Rob Porter Keep Job Even After Receiving Final F.B.I. Report". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
24. "Read the emergency protective order against Rob Porter". Washington Post. February 7, 2018. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
25. Holderness, Colbie (February 12, 2018). "Rob Porter is my ex-husband. Here's what you should know about abuse". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
26. Dawsey, Josh; Reinhard, Beth; Viebeck, Elise (February 7, 2018). "Senior White House official to resign after ex-wives' allegations of abuse". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
27. Restuccia, Andrew; Johnson, Eliana (February 7, 2018). "White House aide Rob Porter resigns after allegations from two ex-wives". Politico. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
28. Haberman, Maggie; Rogers, Katie (February 7, 2018). "Rob Porter, White House Aide, Resigns After Accusations of Abuse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
29. Grim, Ryan; Brown, Alleen (February 7, 2018). "Former Wives of Top White House Aide Rob Porter Both Told FBI He Abused Them". The Intercept. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
30. Liptak, Kevin; Klein, Betsy; Collins, Kaitlan (February 7, 2018). "White House aide denies abuse allegations but resigns". CNN. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
31. Dawsey, Josh; Reinhard, Beth (February 8, 2018). "Top White House officials knew of abuse allegations against top aide for months". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
32. Blake, Aaron (February 9, 2018). "The Rob Porter debacle becomes the Rob Porter scandal". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
33. Smith, David (February 9, 2018). "Trump defends top official accused of domestic abuse: 'He did a very good job'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
34. Anapol, Avery (February 17, 2018). "Hatch sends apology letters to Porter's ex-wives: report". The Hill. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
35. Bender, Michael C. (March 2, 2018). "John Kelly Says Resignation of Top Aide Rob Porter Was Mishandled". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 5, 2018.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

Political offices
Preceded by Joani Walsh	White House Staff Secretary 2017–2018	Succeeded by Derek Lyons Acting