Secret Service had to break up a physical altercation between Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski earlier this year, The New York Times reported Monday evening.
Six people told The Times of a shouting match that occurred between Mr. Kelly and Mr. Lewandowski just outside the Oval Office in February.
According to the The Times, Mr. Kelly was angry with Mr. Lewandowski for criticizing him over giving security clearance to Robert Porter. He condemned Mr. Lewandowski for making a lot of money off his relationship with the president through a PAC backing Mr. Trump’s re-election.
After both left Mr. Trump’s office, Mr. Kelly called for someone to remove Mr. Lewandowski from the White House which prompted the fight. The two men began arguing in the hallway, and then Mr. Kelly allegedly grabbed Mr. Lewandowski’s collar and attempted to push him against a wall, The Times reported.
The fight did not progress further, and both men moved on after Secret Service was called.
Neither Mr. Lewandowski, Mr. Kelly nor the White House gave a comment to The Times.
This is the second time in the past week that Mr. Kelly made headlines for a high-profile confrontation while on the job. On Thursday, Mr. Kelly got into a heated shouting match with National Security Adviser John R. Bolton outside the Oval Office over immigration.
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