Yahoo Autos Kellyanne Conway Says She's Leaving White House Role to Focus on Her Kids: 'Less Drama, More Mama'
Matt Rourke/AP/REX/Shutterstock From left: Kellyanne Conway and George Conway in January 2017
Kellyanne Conway is departing the White House.
On Sunday night, the sometimes-controversial senior counselor to President Donald Trump, who served as his campaign manager leading up to the 2016 election, announced that she will step down from her position in the administration to focus on her family.
Conway, 53, said she will be "transitioning from the White House at the end of this month."
Her husband, George Conway, said on Twitter that he is also "withdrawing" himself from The Lincoln Project, a Republican anti-Trump political action committee, in order to "devote more time to family matters." The attorney, 56, added: "Needless to say, I continue to support the Lincoln Project and its mission. Passionately."
The pair share four children together, including 15-year-old daughter Claudia who developed a viral following on TikTok by staunchly criticizing Trump. Claudia’s dad later called for her privacy from the spotlight, citing her age. Claudia has continued to post publicly about turmoil at home, including in a tweet this weekend about seeking "emancipation."
"We disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most: the kids," Kellyanne said in her statement of herself and her husband's values. "Our four children are teens and ‘tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at 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," she continued. "This is completely my choice and my voice. In time, I will announce future plans."
She added: "For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama."
On Monday, she briefly spoke with a reporter at the White House about her departure: "How am I doing? I’m good. I make my own choices.”
RELATED: Kellyanne Conway Says 'I Make My Own Choices' After Announcing Surprise White House Exit
I'm Leaving the White House. Gratefully & Humbly.
Here is my statement:https://t.co/MpYxVfrY2N
God Bless You All.— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) August 24, 2020
So I’m withdrawing from @ProjectLincoln to devote more time to family matters. And I’ll be taking a Twitter hiatus.
Needless to say, I continue to support the Lincoln Project and its mission. Passionately.— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 24, 2020
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The announcement comes just before the Republican National Convention is set to begin on Monday. Kellyanne had been set to speak at the political event on Wednesday.
Back in December 2016, Kellyanne opened up to ABC News about being a working mom in the White House, telling the network that mothers are "welcome in the Trump White House, and he's made that very clear to me." At the time she began her White House position, her kids were all ages 12 and younger.
Kellyanne added at the time that she wanted to lead by example and prove that she could juggle parenthood and her political duties: "Maybe I could help America’s women in terms of feeling less guilty about balancing life and career and perhaps Skyping or FaceTiming and showing how that’s done. I mean there’s something to that. So we’ll figure all that out."
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Kellyanne, one of the president's longest-serving White House advisers and most recognizable defenders on TV, is known for coining terms like "alternative facts" when spinning the Trump administration's falsehoods. (Her public loyalty was repeatedly satirized on Saturday Night Live.)
Elsewhere in the White House she has worked on the government's response to opioid addiction and played a role in communications, among other duties.
The president has publicly criticized her husband, tweeting in March 2019 that George "is VERY jealous of his wife’s success & angry that I, with her help, didn’t give him the job he so desperately wanted. I barely know him but just take a look, a stone cold LOSER & husband from hell!"
Earlier this year, George revealed that he endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden heading into the Nov. 3 election.
