According to a report from The Washington Post, Sarah Isgur Flores, who has been working as an adviser for GOP candidates and organizations for at least a decade, told the president in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that she supported his agenda and would be honored to work in his administration, several sources familiar with the meeting told the Post.
The meeting was seen as a “must-be” as result of Isgur Flores criticizing of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. The Post wrote that she would likely have lost her chance at the job unless she met with Trump.
Cabinet secretaries usually have the freedom to make their own choices for people in their team.
Trump’s reported requests for loyalty on several occasions have caused a stir in the media since his presidency begun, especially with figures close to the Russia investigation.
Former FBI director James Comey testified that President Trump asked him that he expects loyalty from him, however, the White House has denied the allegations.
There were also reports that Trump also asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein if he was “on [his] team.”
Meanwhile, a GOP strategist that is close to the administration told the Post on the condition of anonymity that the White House’s process for vetting appointees is “an oxymoron.”
“There’s only one answer,” the strategist said. “Trump decides who he wants and tells people. That’s the vetting process.”
Two of Vice President Pence’s picks, Jerry Hendrix and Jon Lerner, were allegedly nixed when an anti-Trump tweet from Hendrix was found and after Trump learned Lerner worked for a group that attacked him during the election. Sources also told the Post that the president and the administration would often announce selections for posts “before they are fully vetted,” and at times would not be vetted properly if “a candidate has high-level approval.”
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