From Mar-A-Lago Reception Desk To White House Travel Team

Mar-a-Lago dining room Image by Courtesy of Mar-a-Lago

By Nathan Guttman May 25, 2017

Donald Trump likes to surround himself with people he knows and trust. His son-in-law and daughter serve as close aides, his former bodyguard manages the Oval Office operation, and even, as BuzzFeed reported, a Mar-a-Lago reception director arranged his trip to the G-7 summit.

Heather Rinkus, guest reception manager at Trump’s Florida estate, is now part of the presidential advance team preparing for his visit to Taormina, Italy, where leaders of the world’s top 7 industrial nations will gather. Rinkus, who has no previous experience with government work, is equipped, according to the report, with a White House email address and a government-issued phone.

The choice of Rinkus to work on Trump’s team raised eyebrows not only because of her day job at the president’s private Golf resort, but also because of her husband’s history.

Ari Rinkus is a twice-convicted felon and as Buzzfeed reported, he has been know for bragging to investors and business partners about his wife’s access to President Trump.

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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