The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is spearheading an effort to purge the White House of staffers perceived as disloyal to President Donald Trump.
Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of the Supreme Court justice, has been advising the president as he seeks to rid the government of “snakes” since his impeachment acquittal, reported Axios.
Thomas heads a network of activists, including GOP Senate staffer Barbara Ledeen, that meets weekly in the offices of conservative legal group Judicial Watch to make recommendations for White House staffing.
She sent one memo directly to the president last year, according to a source close to Thomas, but a presidential personnel office review found some of her recommendations were not appropriate candidates — but Axios reported that Trump may revisit some of those names now that impeachment is behind him.
A source with direct knowledge of the memo told the website that Thomas recommended former Sheriff David Clarke for a senior Homeland Security role and Fox News regular and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino for a role with Homeland Security or as a counterterrorism adviser.
Thomas also recommended Devin Nunes aide Derek Harvey and Federalist contributor Ben Weingarten for the National Security Council, and she suggested talk radio host Chris Plante for press secretary.
Harvey served on the National Security Council until he was pushed out by former national security adviser H.R. McMaster — who was eventually removed himself after Thomas and her Groundswell network pushed for his ouster.
Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, who reported the story, declined to say whether any of the officials targeted by Thomas had pushed back against her campaign.