(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump is losing one of his closest aides, Jordan Karem, who as a personal aide and Oval Office planner serves as a behind-the-scenes emissary for the president.
Karem, who joined Trump in 2015 during the campaign, has been in his current role since March. He's gained a reputation inside the White House as being one of the few advisers ready to be forthright with a president known for volatility.
As Trump's so-called “bodyman,” an aide who accompanies the president on travel and looks after his personal needs, Karem is often the first aide Trump sees in the morning and the last to see him at night. The president relies on him to relay messages between Trump's advisers inside and outside the White House, people familiar with the matter said.
Trump released a statement Monday describing him as a “great guy who I have gotten to know well over the last several years.”
“He was with me from the beginning and I appreciate his loyalty and his commitment to my administration,” Trump added.
He joined the Trump campaign as an advance staffer before becoming press director for then-vice presidential candidate Mike Pence. He became Trump's personal aide in March, and also oversees Oval Office operations.
His father, Michael Karem, who died earlier this month, was an advance staffer who worked for four Republican presidents— Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
The younger Karem plans to remain in the bodyman role until around the beginning of 2019.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Mike Dorning, Joshua Gallu
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