President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is not going to fire his counselor, Kellyanne Conway, despite the Office of Special Counsel recommending she step down from her position for violations of the Hatch Act.

The president spoke about Conway in a phone interview with Fox & Friends on Friday morning.

“No, I’m not going to fire her, I think she’s a terrific person, she’s a tremendous spokesperson, she’s been loyal, she’s just a great person.”

Trump said that although Conway is a government official, she should be able to answer the questions about any topic proposed by the press.

He described Conway as “terrific” in her job and defended her responses to political questions on television.

“It looks to me like they’re trying to take away her right on free speech,” Trump said. “And that’s just not fair.”

Trump said it would be ridiculous for her to decline to answer questions during her media interviews, especially if she was responding to attacks from political candidates.

“She’s got to have a right of responding to questions,” he said.

Trump said that he would get a “very strong briefing” about the recommendation.