Trump says Kelly will leave chief of staff job at end of year

By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland

 

FILE PHOTO: White House Chief of Staff John Kelly listens as U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a working lunch with governors in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House Chief of Staff John Kelly will leave his job at the end of the year, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday, his latest staff shakeup since midterm elections a month ago cost Republicans control of the House of Representatives.

 

Trump, speaking to reporters as he left the White House to attend the annual football game between the Army and Navy military academies in Philadelphia, said he would name a successor for Kelly, possibly on an interim basis, in the next day or two.

 

"He's a great guy," Trump said of Kelly, who led the Department of Homeland Security before taking over as Trump's chief of staff. "I appreciate his service very much."

 

Trump has been in discussions for months with Nick Ayers, a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence, about becoming his chief of staff, a White House official told Reuters.

 

The president wants Ayers to do the job for two years, but Ayers is unable to make the commitment because of his family, including two young children, and has agreed to serve only until the spring of 2019, the official said.

 

"The president and Nick are still working on the specific terms of him taking over," said the official, adding that Ayers was eying a return to Georgia and had been planning to leave Pence's office and the White House this month.

 

Ayers has advised a number of high profile Republican governors and would bring a political edge to the president's inner circle that was not integral to Kelly's background.

 

A freewheeling former businessman, Trump brought Kelly in last year to restore order to his often chaotic White House, but has clashed repeatedly with the retired Marine Corps general in recent months. The two men were no longer on speaking terms, according to one source with direct knowledge of the situation.

 

Paul Ryan, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, said Kelly was leaving what is "often a thankless job."

 

Kelly's impending departure is part of a broad overhaul designed to recalibrate Trump's administration as it faces a new reality in Washington, with Democrats set to take control of the House in January and the 2020 presidential race gearing up next year.

 

On Friday, Trump announced his choice of William Barr, who was attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush in the 1990s, to return to the job as the head of the Justice Department.

 

He also picked Heather Nauert, spokeswoman at the State Department and a former Fox News presenter, to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

 

Kelly, 68, had some success in restoring order to Trump's White House after he was appointed in July 2017, but the president bristled at his style.

 

Their rocky relationship was highlighted in "Fear: Trump in the White House," a book by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward that was released in September.

 

In it, Kelly was shown as one of several White House figures questioning Trump's abilities and was quoted as calling the president "unhinged" and "an idiot."

 

"It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything," the book quoted Kelly as saying during a meeting. "He’s gone off the rails. We’re in Crazytown. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had.”

 

Kelly later denied calling Trump an idiot and said the book was "another pathetic attempt to smear" Trump's administration.

 

He issued a similar denial in April after NBC News reported he had referred to Trump as an idiot on multiple occasions and said the president did not understand policy or how the government works.

 

Trump made Kelly chief of staff after the departure of Reince Priebus, who lasted little more than six months in the job.

As head of Homeland Security, Kelly backed Trump's ban on travel from certain predominantly Muslim nations but at times appeared at odds with the president's agenda.

 

In January, he told Fox News that Trump was not "fully informed" when he made his signature promise to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico to block illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.

 

In other controversial comments, Kelly said in February that some young illegal immigrants dubbed "Dreamers," brought to the United States as children, may not have signed up for a programme to protect them from deportation because they are "too lazy to get off their asses."

 

Kelly, who was born and raised in Boston, also sparked a backlash in October by saying the U.S. Civil War, in which Southern states rebelled to try to maintain slavery, was caused by a lack of "compromise."

 

Unlike other key Cabinet appointments, the White House chief of staff does not require confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-12-09

I never really liked Kelly (I don't like his face; that was reason enough), but I find it a bit worrying that he is going. As an observer of US politics, it seems pretty clear to me that Trump desperately (DESPERATELY!!!) needs an adult or two nearby to prevent him from doing really, really stupid things. Now, who will be the proverbial 'Adult' in the White House? Jared and Ivanka? Nope and Nope. Kelly Anne? Nope. Miller? Nope. Bolton? Nope. It is a wee bit terrifying that I can't think of anyone who can reign in the worst impulses of Trump; who knows what he will do without some kind of adult supervision?

 

And another point.

 

Does anyone think that Kelly is leaving with a better reputation than when he entered the White House? One of the most telling, and most worrying, things about the Trump White House is how it diminishes and degrades people. Traditionally, having the White House on your resume was a badge of honour; it was a high form of public service and was recognized as such. Now, other than perhaps Niki Halley, is there anyone who has been elevated by their time in the White House? The Executive Branch of the US government is one of the most powerful entities on the planet; I would love to think that the proverbial 'Best and Brightest' would be there to assist in steering global affairs, but sadly I can't imagine why the proverbial 'Best and Brightest' would be willing to serve under Trump. 

 

I have said it before and (sadly) need to say it again;

 

Donald Trump is an ever-expanding cloud of toxic waste that defiles everything it touches.

 

God help us all.

 

The back story is that the Orange One promised Kelly that he could make the announcement on Monday but big mouth had to tell a group of reporters on Saturday before the Army - Navy Game

 

Why in the world anyone would want to serve this criminal enterprise that currently occupies the White House is a real mystery 

Great, one of the few (the last?) remaining grown-ups leave and the mental midget can roam free. As Tillerson said in a recent interview:

Trump is “pretty undisciplined, doesn’t like to read” and repeatedly attempted to do illegal things.

Let's hope he does do something so illegal that even the soul selling GOP will be forced to react and remove this underwear stain for good.

Get ready for crazy town on steroids I always thought Kelley would get mad and snap the orange ones neck

Natural turnover.

We'll doubtless see a few more folks come and go over the next 6 years of the Trump Administration. 

1 hour ago, Tug said:

Get ready for crazy town on steroids I always thought Kelley would get mad and snap the orange ones neck

C’mon tug... be honest... “thought” or “hoped” 

34 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Natural turnover.

We'll doubtless see a few more folks come and go over the next 6 years of the Trump Administration. 

Y'know, REAL Trump supporters are embarrassed by you.

????

Both!   Lol

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

Natural turnover.

We'll doubtless see a few more folks come and go over the next 6 years of the Trump Administration. 

Natural? With the next guy, that will make it 3 in less than 2 years. Unnatural turnover is more like it.

6 hours ago, rooster59 said:

quoted as calling the president "unhinged" and "an idiot."

Consistent with former Secretary of State Tillerson calling trump a f**king moron.

Kelly should have left the White House within months if he had any morals and ethics. Instead he allowed himself to be morally corrupted as many are near Trump.

4 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

Natural turnover.

We'll doubtless see a few more folks come and go over the next 6 years of the Trump Administration. 

I would have thought months would be stretching it.

4 hours ago, quandow said:

Y'know, REAL Trump supporters are embarrassed by you.

????

I would hope that they are embarassed at voting for him.

10 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

Natural turnover.

We'll doubtless see a few more folks come and go over the next 6 years of the Trump Administration. 

The only turnover has been in his promises. No wall (although that was not the priority he thought it was), no end to DACA (he actually offered to expand it in negotiations), no designating China as a currency manipulator, no end to silly wars in Syria, Afghanistan, and everywhere else it seems, no making the Europeans pay the two percent for defense, and no curtailment of illegal immigration (it has gone up).  I don't want to hear about how the courts are stopping him or congress tied his hands--he should have had something resembling a strategy (didn't he realize he would find opposition to these proposals).  Instead, all he worries about is giving Powell the Jeff Sessions treatment, so he can continue giving free money to FAANGS and Warren Buffet for stock buybacks, while focusing on the bubble in the stock market and making it his personal god and idol, and giving out unseemly and unnecessary corporate tax breaks. Unfocused, as Tucker Carlson says? Was he ever focused?  This is just Schwarzenegger 2.0 and we are in for a disaster. I supported him and I'm sick of the sight of him now, and I don't even live in the US. BTW, bet he's going to cave on the Chinese tariffs, too, because he wants to squeeze out the bubble in the markets just a little further. I admit there wasn't much choice in who to vote for. But it's also true that he is an idiot.

Edited December 9, 20187 yr by zydeco

Disappointed in Kelly

 

Always hoped he would do the right thing and dispatch Delta Tango and save the world 

 

So much for The Marines

 

Semper Fidelis?

Edited December 9, 20187 yr by Grouse

I can not understand why the usa does not get rid of this dull trump head.

He is paranoid with dementia with a tendency to megalomania.

Unfit for president.

It is time for the medical specialists to put an end to this. Trump would not even pass a geography lesson in a primary school.

Having spent much effort and money 50 years ago to avoid joining either, I wonder which side he was cheering for in the game.

 

Nice to see the forces welcome the old draft dodger with such warmth...

I saw an funny tweet about Ayers being asked to be Chief of staff:

 

BREAKING: Nick Ayers not taking job as White House chief of staff. Ayers said he wants to spend more time with his family and less time in prison

 

 

Kelly is one of the lucky men.   He's managed to get in one of the life boats as the Titanic is sinking.

 

“One of Mike Pence’s aides was expected to replace Kelly, but he turned Trump down. You know you’re a tough guy to work for when someone says, ‘Sorry, but I’d rather be stuck in a room all day with Mike Pence.’” — JIMMY FALLON

Jimmy Fallon addressing the audience

 “If anyone here wants to be President Trump’s chief of staff, just raise your hand and the job is yours.” — JIMMY FALLON

On 12/9/2018 at 9:45 PM, ballpoint said:

But strange enough I didn't see multiple threads ridiculing Obama for it at that time

1 hour ago, janclaes47 said:

But strange enough I didn't see multiple threads ridiculing Obama for it at that time

Well, you just made the same error that so many Trump supporters make: you believed what Trump claimed.

Actually there were only 2 Official chiefs of staff. Pete rouse was only the interim chief of staff.

Obama had 3 official chiefs of staff over his first 4 years.

 

In less than 2 years, Trump will have had 3.

1 hour ago, janclaes47 said:

But strange enough I didn't see multiple threads ridiculing Obama for it at that time

The redicule isn’t so much about the turnover but the fact that no top flight person seems to want the prestigious and powerful job that at other times people would kill for.

 

And also it’s about the turnover, because, taken as a whole, this administration has had more high-level turnover than just about any other. It’s a sign of disjunction and inept leadership.

A questionable post has been reported and removed.

 

8 hours ago, Thakkar said:

And also it’s about the turnover, because, taken as a whole, this administration has had more high-level turnover than just about any other. It’s a sign of disjunction and inept leadership.

And here I thought it was a result of all that swamp draining going on