The White House convened a group of black Republicans on Monday and asked them to spread the word that the Trump administration is hiring.
A source inside the meeting told DailyMail.com that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly asked for resumes at the gathering that was billed as a briefing on tax reform.
Kelly said Tuesday that he didn’t ‘say African Americans’ when he asked for the resumes – although he did make the ask.
‘I said talented young men and women of any age that would be willing to come and serve the country for some period of time,’ he stated.
The White House convened a group of black Republicans on Monday and asked them to spread the word that the Trump administration is hiring
Sen. Tim Scott and Herman Cain, a former Republican presidential candidate and businessman were also at the meeting of about 30 African-American policy makers and business people.
The point of the meeting was to update attendees on tax reform. But Kelly also acknowledged the administration’s diversity problem in his comments.
‘I went over and met with them, just for a few minutes, and I said we are looking for talented young men and women. I didn’t say African Americans, I didn’t say Hispanics,’ he said Tuesday.
Kelly said he told the group ‘how rewarding it is.’
‘I’ve done this my whole life nothing else,’ he said. ‘How rewarding it is, whether you’re in the military working at the White House or at the Department of Labor and said if you know people, who are looking towards something that is very fulfilling we’re looking for really good people.’