Washington: White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is expected to resign in the coming days, CNN reported on Friday, December 7, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Kelly’s potential replacements included Nick Ayers, Vice-President Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff, the report said.
CNN quoted two White House sources as saying that Kelly’s relationship with the President, often reported as “tumultuous”, was no longer seen as “sustainable” and will likely lead to Kelly’s ouster in the near future.
The former secretary of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, Kelly joined the White House in July 2017 following the resignation of former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
In April, Kelly issued a public statement denying reports from NBC News that he referred to Trump as an “idiot” during conversations with colleagues and mocked the President’s lack of policy knowledge.
Kelly’s tenure working for the President was marked by controversies. He was faced with Trump’s controversial response to the racially charged protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Kelly was photographed looking grim-faced in the lobby of Trump Tower as the President declared there were “good people” on both sides of the racist violence.
He also mishandled the situation involving former staff secretary Rob Porter, who was accused by two of his ex-wives of abuse. Kelly’s shifting stance in the row caused his credibility inside the West Wing to plummet.
