US President Donald Trump says he'll leave it up to chief of staff John Kelly to decide whether Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will keep his interim security clearance.
"I will let General Kelly make that decision and he's going to do what's right for the country and I have no doubt he'll make the right decision," Trump said during a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, where he addressed the security clearance issue for the first time.
Kushner is one of dozens of White House aides who have been working without permanent security clearances for the better part of a year.
Kelly had set a Friday deadline for halting access to top secret information for those whose applications have been pending since June 1 or before that date. Some officials are expected to leave their posts as a result, while others will continue working with reduced — or no — access to classified information.
White House officials had not ruled out the idea of Trump potentially using his executive authority to grant Kushner a permanent security clearance, which would circumvent the traditional process.
