House Speaker Paul Ryan said the White House must reform the way it screens employees following the dismissal of top aide Rob Porter, who was accused of domestic violence.
“Clearly they have work to do to fix their vetting system,” Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters who asked him about the White House response to Porter. “I don’t know how they’ll do that. I’ll leave that to them.”
White House chief of staff John Kelly has been criticized for keeping Porter on staff even after the FBI flagged the domestic violence issue months ago.
Critics also accuse Trump of failing to acknowledge the problem of domestic violence after he tweeted over the weekend that domestic violence accusations are destroying careers. Ryan said he was unaware of Trump’s comments.
“I can’t speak for what he said,” Ryan told reporters who asked about it. “Clearly we should all be condemning domestic violence.”
A second White House staffer, speechwriter David Sorensen, resigned after his ex-wife accused him of abuse.
Ryan said if someone who has committed domestic violence ends up working in the White House, “there is clearly a breakdown in the vetting system.”
