Tara Palmeri

White House Chief Digital Officer Gerrit Lansing was among the six staffers who were dismissed from the White House recently after being unable to pass an FBI background check, apparently. The issue with the background check was over investments. Lansing previously led the digital department for the Republican National Committee.

The background check, security questionnaire SF86, must be completed by White House staffers for positions that cover national security. President Donald Trump's director of scheduling, Caroline Wiles, was also among the six staffers who did not pass the intensive FBI screening. She is the daughter of Susan Wiles, Trump’s Florida campaign director. Caroline Wiles resigned Feb 17 before the background check was completed.

On January 23, President Donald Trump dispatched two aides to scope out the studios of Voice of America, heightening concerns among some longtime staffers that President Trump may quickly put his stamp on the broadcasting arm that has long pushed US democratic ideals across the world.

The arrival of the two aides – both political operatives from Trump’s campaign – comes after Voice of America received blowback for sending out a series of tweets about White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s claims about inauguration crowd size that looked to some like an endorsement of his false statements. The news outlet later deleted one of the tweets. The concern among some staffers is especially acute because Trump’s administration is getting control over the broadcasting agency just weeks after Congress moved to eliminate the board of directors that had served as an integrity check on the organization, instead consolidating power with a CEO position appointed by the president.