Kellyanne Conway gives up protection by the United States Secret Service (USSS)

Watson Williams

16:51:00

Kellyanne Conway looks on at a presser about the opioid addiction crisis in the US in Bridgewater, New Jersey, on August 8, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Counselor to the US president, Kellyanne Conway, has given up her protection by the United States Secret Service (USSS).

Multiple reports by US news outlets said on Tuesday that the top White House official has taken the measure.

US President Donald Trump approved the 50-year-old’s protection after several alleged threats but now the threat level against her has changed.

The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has also dropped his protection from the Secret Service due to privacy concerns.

“To ensure the safety and security of our protectees and their families, we will not confirm who is currently receiving Secret Service protection,” said Secret Service spokeswoman Catherine Miller earlier.

The number of the Trump family members has purportedly stretched the Secret Service’s resources recently.

USSS Director Randolph "Tex" Alles said in August that the agency can no longer pay hundreds of its agents due to the size of Trump's family and their trips.

The Trumps travel almost weekly in part to secure their multiple residences up and down the East Coast.

Trump chose retired Marine Corps General Alles to oversee the agency after it was beset with a series of high-profile controversies.

Alles, who is the first Secret Service director not chosen from within the ranks in recent history, replaced Joseph Clancy who joined the service in 1984.

According to its website, the Secret Service is tasked with providing protection for the president and the vice president, currently Mike Pence, and their family members, namely wife, children and grandchildren, yet those could decline protection.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, left, reacts as he and first lady Melania Trump listen to US President Donald Trump speak at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, September 19, 2017. (Photo by AP)

US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, appeared to be feeling embarrassed as Trump was delivering an address to the UN General Assembly’s 72nd session on Tuesday.

In one photo showing Kelly with his head in his hand, and in another showing him looking down at the floor, it is clear, according to Twitter users, that he was not enjoying what the president was saying.

Trump used his speech to further escalate his standoff with North Korea over its nuclear activities, threatening to "destroy" the country if necessary.

"The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea," he said.

"It is time for North Korea to realize that its denuclearization is its only responsible future," he added.

The photos showing Kelly’s reaction became a talking point on social media, with many users expressing the view that Trump’s right hand man felt embarrassed by his remarks.

"John Kelly apparently went through some sort of existential crisis during Trump's UN speech," Kyle Feldscher, a reporter, commented.

“John Kelly has a terrible poker face,” said another reporter, Jessica Taylor.

Kelly, 67, started his job at the White House early in August. Within a month, however, reports came out that tensions had increased between him and President Trump.

Kelly told colleagues that nobody had ever spoken to him like Trump did during his 35 years in the military, The New York Times reported.