MORE HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION
IN TRUMPS WORLD
(CNN)President Donald Trump’s protocol chief, Sean Lawler, has been suspended indefinitely just ahead of the G-20 meeting in Japan pending the outcome of a State Department investigation into his conduct, according to multiple State Department officials with direct knowledge of the matter.
The Trump administration’s chief of protocol in the State Department has been pulled off the job just ahead of the G-20 summit amid an investigation into allegations of discrimination and harassment, U.S. officials said. He is not expected to return to his job.
Two State officials told CNN that Lawler was called into the office of the deputy secretary on Monday afternoon and told he needed to leave due to the status of the investigation.
On the same afternoon, senior staff in the protocol office met with State Department management and were told that Lawler had to leave over personnel issues, according to the officials.
Lawler, a political appointee, was nominated by Trump to the position in September 2017 and given the rank of ambassador. He was confirmed by the Senate in November 2017.
A third official said that Lawler had told the State Department's leadership he planned to submit his resignation to President Donald Trump after the G-20 summit, which starts Friday in Osaka, Japan.
They were also told in this meeting that their new acting chief of protocol is Mary-Kate Fisher, and her acting deputy is Cathy Fenton, who served as social secretary in the George W. Bush White House and also handled social affairs for Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush. State Department sources said both are highly respected.
"A large chunk of the protocol office was aware of this behavior for a long time. They're surprised, to be honest, that this hadn't been dealt with sooner," according to one of the State Department officials, who told CNN that Lawler was unprofessional and repeatedly demeaning to employees in the office, often raising his voice and using profanity.