President-elect Donald Trump has named Kellyanne Conway, the campaign manager who helped him win his unlikely presidential bid, to the position of counselor to the president.
"She is a tireless and tenacious advocate of my agenda and has amazing insights on how to effectively communicate our message,” the president-elect said in a statement, according to NBC News. “I am pleased that she will be part of my senior team in the West Wing."
Conway, who led the Trump campaign to victory by winning Rust Belt states most pollsters believed would go solidly Democratic, will be the highest-ranking woman in Trump's cabinet and only the third woman to be named counselor to the president in American history.
The first woman to be named to the counselor to the president position was Anne Armstrong in 1973, when she filled the role for President Richard Nixon, according to the New York Times.
Karen Hughes also served as George W. Bush's first counselor to the president, according to NBC News.
On Dec. 1, Conway suggested she would not be working in the Trump White House, but instead would head a pro-Trump political operation.
“West Wing welcome mat is out, but we need a superstructure like the one [David] Plouffe built,” Conway tweeted. “Plus, mom of four is not [in] most job descriptions.”
But the New York Times suggested Conway was holding out for a better offer within the Trump cabinet after she was offered a spokeswoman role she didn't want.
Conway says she does not consider being a mother of four a dealbreaker for the job.
"Essentially, my major concern is and will always be my four children, but I'm very convinced this is [a] family-friendly West Wing and White House," she said, according to NBC News. "I've seen Donald Trump up close and personal with his own children and his grandchildren, and certainly his 10-year-old son and his wife. And I know that he is very pro-family."
Sources: New York Times (2), NBC News (2), Kellyanne Conway/Twitter/ Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr
