Navarro’s tactics at the White House draw new scrutiny amid pandemic response

Navarro’s harsh manner and disregard for protocol have alienated numerous colleagues, corporate executives and prominent Republicans. In a previously undisclosed incident, the White House Counsel’s Office in 2018 investigated Navarro’s behavior in response to repeated complaints and found he routinely had been verbally abusive toward others. Navarro narrowly avoided losing his job, but the abuse has continued as the White House has grappled with the pandemic, multiple administration officials said.

On Monday, the administration terminated one contract that Navarro had directly negotiated — for 42,900 Philips ventilators. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the cancellation was “subject to internal HHS investigation and legal review.” The contract had been criticized by a House oversight subcommittee, which concluded that the government had overpaid for the ventilators by $500 million.

The cancellation came after another transaction Navarro championed, a government loan to fund Kodak’s transformation into a drugmaker, unraveled and became embroiled in a securities investigation. The watchdog panel says it is broadening its inquiry to examine all of Navarro’s deals.

Navarro remains unbowed, scorning critics inside and outside the White House as disloyal and leaning heavily on his one true ally: Donald Trump. The trade specialist’s ascent from economics professor and failed California political candidate to one of the most central figures in the White House is a testament to his tenacity, indifference to bureaucratic formalities and ability to stay in the president’s ear.

For much of Trump’s presidency, Navarro has been an adviser, critiquing existing U.S. trade deals without responsibility for negotiating better ones. But since March, he has been in charge of coordinating the federal government’s purchases of vital medical supplies using the Defense Production Act, a position President Trump says is “more important, probably, than it’s almost ever been in our country.”

This story is based on interviews with 28 current and former administration officials, congressional aides and business executives, along with a review of government statements and securities filings. Many of those interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations or because they feared retaliation by Navarro.

Complaints over Navarro’s combustible demeanor crested in the previously undisclosed 2018 investigation of his workplace conduct ordered by then-Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, according to a former senior Trump adviser.

Kelly, a retired Marine, acted after months of complaints about Navarro’s treatment of his staffers and colleagues. The trade adviser routinely exploded at his assistants while scheming to undermine other senior White House officials, this adviser said.

Young women appeared to suffer the most verbal abuse. Some female White House employees complained that Navarro, 71, was habitually disrespectful, assigning professional women to act as note takers during policy meetings rather than allowing them to participate, another former official said.

Navarro was dismissive when Kelly confronted him, calling the reports exaggerated. After increasingly tense conversations and mounting complaints, Kelly finally told Navarro he would not tolerate the hostile work environment he had created and asked White House Counsel Donald McGahn’s office to investigate.

“If it’s worse than what I’m hearing, you’re gone,” Kelly told Navarro, according to a person familiar with the exchange. “If it’s as bad as what I’m hearing, I don’t know. You may be gone.”

After interviewing White House employees, the counsel’s office concluded that Navarro had been verbally abusive. The probe concluded with Navarro being informally counseled.

“They couldn’t make any real findings because he was hostile to everybody, not just women,” said one former White House official.

At first, the intervention appeared to have succeeded. But after Kelly resigned in December 2018, Navarro returned to form.

In recent weeks, Navarro screamed at a low-level government procurement officer over a purchase of medical supplies under the DPA. When the official refused his order, Navarro grew incensed.

“Are you loyal to China or to the American taxpayer?” he bellowed, according to a person familiar with the exchange. Several other officials recounted similar episodes.

”Peter Navarro’s highest priority during the last six months has been defeating the China virus and working to save lives, while creating thousands of jobs in the process. As Policy Coordinator, he’s helped oversee the use of the Defense Production Act more than 80 times and pushed the interagency to work quicker and smarter. These attacks are without merit,” Sarah Matthews, a deputy White House press secretary, said in response to detailed questions about the events described in this story.

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