Sam Clovis, the former Trump campaign aide who had been serving as USDA’s liaison to the White House, is leaving the Agriculture Department and will return home to Iowa, a USDA official confirmed Thursday evening.
Clovis had endured criticism for months, but his withdrawal came shortly after he was swept up in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign and the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russian interests. While serving on the campaign, Clovis had supervised George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser who struck a plea deal on charges he lied to FBI investigators about his communications with Russia-linked contacts. Clovis’ withdrawal followed shortly after news of Papadopoulos’ plea deal.