Top Kelly aide devised plan to quietly exit White House and stay on payroll: report

Source: The Hill

Zachary Fuentes, a 36-year-old deputy of outgoing White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, devised a plan to remain on the White House payroll for six months after Kelly's departure to cash in on an early retirement program through the Coast Guard, in which he is an active duty officer.

Several White House staffers told The New York Times that Fuentes discussed the retirement program with officials at the Department of Homeland Security, which then began pressing Congress in November to reinstate it after it ended at the end of fiscal year 2018.

A provision to reinstate it was pulled Wednesday from a House bill after questions from reporters.

The White House told The New York Times that Fuentes planned to remain on for a time as a senior adviser to aid in the transition to a new chief of staff.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/422404-top-kelly-aide-devised-plan-to-quietly-exit-white-house-and-stay-on