A new senior leader at the White House personnel office: A college senior

By DANIEL LIPPMAN and MERIDITH MCGRAW02/25/2020 07:36 PM ESTUpdated: 02/25/2020 10:55 PM ESTLink CopiedThe White House has hired a college senior to be one of the top officials in its powerful Presidential Personnel Office, according to three administration officials familiar with the matter.James Bacon, 23, is acting as one of the right-hand men to new PPO director John McEntee, according to the officials. (Axios first reported the details of the meeting.)Another administration official described the meeting as “very positive” and McEntee reassured colleagues that there won’t be delays even though some PPO officials are leaving.At least during his transition into the office, McEntee has for now kept on Michael Burley, who is associate director of presidential personnel and a special assistant to the president, but Burley is trying to figure out his next steps if he decides to leave.After his acquittal, the president — emboldened and increasingly skeptical of anyone not a part of his original team — has relied on people like McEntee to act on his unofficial edict to fill the White House with loyalists and get rid of anyone feared to be part of the “deep state.”McEntee worked on the Trump campaign in 2016 as the president’s body man, and in his role at the White House had constant access to the president, flying with him on Marine One and Air Force One, and at the president’s side to assist with any needs.