Natalie Harp, the 35-year-old executive assistant to US President Donald Trump, was revealed to have failed to cooperate with authorities conducting her security clearance for more than a year.
The process is considered crucial because those working in the White House’s West Wing have regular access to sensitive administrative documents and, in some cases, handle classified national security information.
Highlights
- Trump reportedly intervened personally after Natalie Harp came under scrutiny over her delayed security clearance.
- Senior White House officials allegedly made “subtle moves” to curb Harp’s constant presence around the president.
- Harp’s estranged brother has described her relationship with Trump as an “unhealthy obsession.”
Given the seriousness of the situation, the commander-in-chief is said to have personally intervened.
This has given rise to rumors that Harp may be more than just Trump’s aide, with one netizen labeling her his “side piece.”
Senior officials made “subtle moves” to limit Harp’s round-the-clock access to Trump
American cable news network MS NOW spoke to a White House official familiar with the security clearance process about the status of Harp’s review on Thursday, August 19.
It learned that Harp had been granted multiple extensions to complete the SF-86 form, which collects extensive background information, including past residences, financial history and foreign contacts, before initiating a federal background check.
However, she consistently failed to submit it.
Another source who spoke to the outlet said White House employees are required to complete the paperwork at the beginning of their tenures.
They said Harp was among the few employees who had not undergone the procedure for an extended period.
The source flagged the situation as concerning, noting that Harp is often only a few feet away from Trump and within earshot of conversations involving highly confidential matters.
There have been “subtle moves” by senior staff to limit her presence around Trump, the source said, but they have not been successful.
Several others said Harp’s reasoning for declining to complete the security clearance paperwork was unknown.
However, they ultimately confirmed that she filled out the forms in recent months after directly hearing from Trump.
A deeply personal letter Harp addressed to Donald Trump has fueled affair rumors
Harp not only spends time with the president in the White House but also accompanies him on several national and international tours.
She is known to have visited his properties in Florida and New Jersey and to have traveled with him to countries including Scotland and Turkey.
The former trip took place in May 2023, during which Harp was seen running behind Trump’s golf cart.
She went on to admit that she had starved herself and forgotten to sleep while working for him in the same correspondence.
“I want things to always be right between us. I know I’ve been distracted all week, forgetting to eat throughout the days, and even forgetting to sleep and only catching a couple of hours at a time,” she said.
Meanwhile, during her July 8 trip to Turkey with Trump, she was among a handful of officials who accompanied him in a catering cart amid a security threat at Ankara airport.
Another labeled her “future Mrs. Trump.”
Harp’s ascent into Trump’s inner circle began in 2020 when she credited him with saving her life
In a speech delivered at the Republican National Convention in August 2020, Harp said the Right to Try Act, signed by Trump in 2018, which allows terminally ill patients to access experimental treatments, helped her beat bone cancer.
In 2022, Harp began working on Trump’s re-election campaign, where top aides nicknamed her the “Human Printer” because of her routine of printing favorable coverage and polling for Trump.
In 2025, she became a White House staffer and is today known as one of his most favored people in the office.
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff highlighted her closeness to Trump on August 16, when he said the president only wanted to “travel with Natalie on an apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
Natalie Harp’s brother characterized her relationship with Trump as an “unhealthy obsession”
In an August 18 interview with CNN, Preston Harp, Natalie’s estranged brother, claimed that his sister had “not broken out of the delusion” instilled in them by their mother, and suggested that it may have contributed to her attraction to Trump.
“He is everything my mom taught us to respect,” he said.
“She raised us with the idea that American exceptionalism was the correct way of looking at things, that the United States is the boss of the world.”
Preston claimed that Natalie’s “infatuation” for Trump comes from ideas closely tied to those beliefs.
It’s an “unhealthy obsession,” he said.
Preston, however, also recalled that his sister had an “obsession” with several politicians and had written letters to them, specifically to President George W. Bush during the Iraq War.
"Is she a spy?" a social media user asked
