Donald Trump Aide Natalie Harp Worked at White House Without Security Clearance for a Year: Report

President Donald Trump’s close aide and executive assistant Natalie Harp worked inside the White House for over a year without a routine security clearance after repeatedly declining to complete the standard vetting process, a new report claims.

According to reporting by MS NOW White House correspondent Jake Traylor, the issue escalated to the point where Trump had to personally intervene, after which Harp submitted the required forms and received her clearance in recent months.

“Both people said Harp’s reasoning for failing to complete the process was unknown. After concerns mounted among the White House counsel’s office and security officials, the president himself intervened, and Harp, in recent months, filled out the forms to launch a formal federal background investigation and received the clearance, one of the people said,” Traylor explained.

The 35-year-old former OANN host was given multiple extensions but repeatedly failed to complete the standard SF-86 background investigation form. Her exact reasoning remains unknown.

The White House Counsel’s office, security officials and the Secret Service raised red flags over her lack of vetting.

“One national security official voiced concern that Harp’s proximity to the president — in the West Wing and his residence — gives her access to the most sensitive information around Trump, more than nearly all other senior White House officials,” Traylor reported.

Staffers reportedly attempted "subtle moves" to limit her round-the-clock access to Trump. Concerns were raised that she acts as an unvetted information filter, feeding the president unverified media and catering to controversial impulses.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Harp in a statement to MS NOW, stating that Harp is a "loyal and hardworking member of President Trump's team" and now possesses a security clearance "like everyone else."

Not every Trump staffer was so confident in Harp.

“The lack of a security clearance is one of several red flags raised about Harp internally by Trump’s top aides since he returned to the White House in January 2025,” Traylor wrote with his colleague Jacqueline Alemany.

Secret Service officials and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles have expressed deep concerns regarding Harp's extreme proximity to the elderly president.

These apprehensions, outlined in the book Regime Change by journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, center on security vulnerabilities, unchecked influence and breaches of protocol.

The Secret Service came to view Harp as a "security consideration" due to her intense fixation and constant, unregulated presence around the president.

Author Michael Wolff noted that the Secret Service raised internal alarms, explicitly describing her behavior as a potential danger to herself and the president.