Huma Abedin, the Hillary Clinton loyalist and wife of embattled New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, will reportedly take an “extended vacation” from her job as the chief of staff of Hillary Clinton’s transition team.
Politico reports the move is not a formal “leave of absence.”
“Huma is not taking a leave of absence, but she will be taking vacation time in August to support her family during Anthony’s campaign,” a Weiner campaign source told Politico. “She had always intended to do this.”
According to Politico, “it was a loose plan she’d had for weeks, since Hillary Clinton has close to no schedule next month.”
After yet another woman came forward to reveal her sexting experiences with Weiner, Abedin stood by her husband during a press conference last week. But ABC News revealed on Monday that the Clinton camp “increasingly see[s] Anthony Weiner’s mayoral campaign as an embarrassment and potential liability.”
Clinton spokesman Phillipe Reines, who is also a close friend of Abedin’s, reportedly tried to convince Huma not to appear in a video filmed this past weekend with Weiner in which the mayoral candidate vowed to go forward with his campaign because New Yorkers don’t “quit.”
Clinton’s transition office is largely believed to be a staging ground for a potential 2016 presidential run and the Clintons have referred to longtime confidante Abedin as their “second daughter.”