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Former UConn QB Ousted From White House Post As Trump Personal Assistant

Former University of Connecticut quarterback John McEntee, whose YouTube trick shot video went viral several years ago, has been fired from his position as a personal assistant to President Donald Trump.

Former UConn football player Johnny McEntee showing his skills in a video that went viral.

Photo Credit: YouTube

According to a New York Times report, McEntee was escorted out of the White House after his security clearance was revoked. He will reportedly join Trump's 2020 re-election campaign team as senior adviser. In recent weeks, Gen. John F. Kelly, the White House Chief of Staff, has been clamping down on staffers working without permanent security clearances.

CNN reported the failure to gain permanent security clearance was related to financial transgressions.

“McEntee was fired because he is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes,” CNN reported. 

McEntee became the latest - though not biggest - name to be ousted from his  position in the Trump administration, shortly after Trump tweeted that he had decided to fire Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

A walk-on at UConn, McEntee took over starting duties in 2011, the same year his famed trick shot video went viral on YouTube, depicting him making a series of seemingly impossible throws throughout the campus. The video has more than 7.3 million views in less than seven years.

“As we build out our operations for the 2018 mid-term elections and the 2020 reelection campaign, we are pleased to welcome back two outstanding members of our 2016 team,” Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, said in a written statement announcing the hiring of McEntee and Katrina Pierson, who frequently appears as a surrogate for Trump on cable news.

The firing came as a surprise to many, according to reports, and “it’s not going to be great for morale,” a White House official told the Wall Street Journal this week, which reported the ousting first.

He was escorted off the White House grounds before he was allowed to collect his belongings, even leaving without his jacket, the Journal reported. 

Before becoming a personal assistant and “body man” to Trump, McEntee worked as a production assistant at Fox News. He joined the Trump campaign in August 2015 and quickly rose through the ranks. 

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