President Trump’s White House chief of staff, John Kelly, is expected to leave the Trump administration in the next few days according to a new report this morning from CNN.
CNN’s Brian Stelter tweeted:
“Just in: WH chief of staff John Kelly “is expected to resign in the coming days,” @kaitlancollins reports, citing two sources. Trump and Kelly “have stopped speaking in recent days.” And “Trump is actively discussing a replacement plan.”
Just in: WH chief of staff John Kelly "is expected to resign in the coming days," @kaitlancollins reports, citing two sources. Trump and Kelly "have stopped speaking in recent days." And "Trump is actively discussing a replacement plan."
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 7, 2018
Unnamed White House sources told CNN that Kelly’s relationship with the president, often reported as turbulent and stormy, is no longer considered “sustainable.” The breakdown in this relationship will reportedly result in Kelly’s forced departure from the White House within a matter of days.
Trump is actively discussing a replacement for Kelly, though reportedly nothing has been decided yet, and ultimately it is up to Trump. Nick Ayers, the chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, is still being mentioned as the leading possible replacement for Kelly.
According to CNN:
“Seventeen months in, Kelly and President Donald Trump have reached a stalemate in their relationship and it is no longer seen as tenable by either party. Though Trump asked Kelly over the summer to stay on as chief of staff for two more years, the two have stopped speaking in recent days.”
In July, Kelly announced to White House staff that President Trump had requested that he remain as chief of staff until at least 2020, and that he had agreed to do so at that time. There were many rumors over the past year that he would resign from his position due to disagreements with the president.
CNN reported last month that Trump had been looking into potential replacements for several senior positions in his administration as part of a post-midterms staff shakeup. And finding a new chief of staff for the White House was listed as one task that the president was considering.
Ayers has been floated as a Kelly replacement before, and there are many other Trump staffers who do not view him favorably. Ayers, is young, good looking, rich and very loyal to Trump, according to media reports. Given that these are the qualities most valued by Donald Trump in people around him, it is probably a good bet that Ayers will get the chief of staff job, despite the objections of his other staff members.
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