ATLANTA (AP) — Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson inadvertently made public his anger with the White House hiring office when cameras captured writing on the back of a page he was consulting during a speech.
In a reference to the White House Presidential Personnel Office, Carson’s notes said: “I am not happy with the way PPO is handling my agency.” The office, run by John McEntee, makes political appointments to federal agency positions.
“I like John and respect what he is doing, however I am sensing a severe (illegible) of trust,” Carson’s notes said. The missing word was blocked in the photograph by a microphone on the podium.
Carson’s notes also said: “I am very loyal to you and after you win, I hope to stay in your administration.”
He never uttered any comments about the personnel office during his speech. The notes on his paper were visible in a live video feed of the speech being projected around the room on TV screens as he spoke ahead of President Donald Trump at a campaign event to woo Black voters in Atlanta.
There was no immediate comment from the White House or Carson’s office.
McEntee’s appointment to head the personnel office has been controversial.
He first worked as an intern on the 2016 Trump campaign and then rose to become one of the president’s closest staffers, with an office adjacent to the Oval Office. McEntee had served as Trump’s personal aide until he was forced out of the White House in 2018 on the orders of former chief of staff John Kelly over issues with his security clearance.
McEntee, 30, returned to the White House in early 2019 after being tapped to lead the White House Presidential Personnel Office, an influential posting that coordinates the screening and hiring of thousands of federal government workers. In his job, he is expected to ensure that those offered jobs are loyal and believe in Trump’s presidency.
Riechmann contributed from Washington.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.