The White House faced fresh questions on Thursday over whether President Donald Trump’s closest aide, Natalie Harp, had access to US government secrets without security clearance.
Harp, who is executive assistant to the president, worked at the White House for a year without routine clearance, the MS Now network reported. She refused to file the relevant forms for unknown reasons, according to two unnamed sources cited by MS Now.
It was only when the White House counsel’s office raised the issue, and when Trump himself became involved, that Harp filled out the paperwork for a federal background investigation and was belatedly granted clearance, according to the report.
Former Ethics Officials React
Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics tsar, said: “It is shocking that an aide who has potential exposure to the nation’s most sensitive secrets reportedly went without a security clearance for so long. Treating access to confidences as a casual job perk is an outrageous way to handle our national security.”
David Axelrod, who was chief strategist and senior adviser to Barack Obama, posted on X: “If this story is true, and the person closest to the president and his thinking on a daily basis has no security clearance and refuses to submit to the process of getting it, it’s a deadly serious issue.”
Richard Painter, a former chief ethics lawyer for George W. Bush, noted that all White House staff usually undergo a background investigation, but only some require additional security clearance, depending on their access to classified information. He added that if Harp accompanies the president on Air Force One where she could overhear conversations involving classified information, she needs clearance.
The White House Response
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “Natalie Harp has a security clearance like everyone else, and she is a loyal and hardworking member of President Trump’s team.”
A Pattern of Concern
Donald K Sherman, president of the legal advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, noted parallels with Trump’s first term. “In his first administration, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was only granted a clearance after Trump ordered it, overruling concerns raised by intelligence officials,” Sherman said.
Rick Wilson, a co-founder of the Lincoln Project, said: “It’s unsurprising that Donald Trump, who couldn’t pass a credit check, never mind a security check, would have no problem letting someone without clearance be in such a sensitive position for a year.”
Who Is Natalie Harp?
Harp, 35, first came to national attention as a cancer survivor and enthusiastic Trump supporter who spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention. She joined One America News Network in 2020 and went to work for Trump two years later.
She has frequently been at his side ever since. In 2023, when Trump was due to appear in court in New York, Harp jumped into the trunk of an SUV after discovering there was no seat for her in his motorcade.
Her loyalty has been documented in the book Regime Change by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. They reported that Harp had written Trump intensely admiring letters, including one in which she told him: “You are all that matters to me.”
The Bottom Line
White House aide Natalie Harp reportedly worked without a security clearance for a year before being granted one after the White House counsel’s office intervened. Critics have called the delay “shocking” and a serious national security risk. The White House has denied any issue, stating Harp has a clearance like everyone else. The controversy comes as Harp’s close relationship with Trump has drawn increased scrutiny.
