White House Chief Of Staff John Kelly Expected To Resign Soon, Nick Ayers Expected To Replace Him

Another shake up is expected to hit the White House in the coming days, as sources familiar with West Wing affairs claim President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, is planning to resign.

The president’s relationship with Kelly, who came on as chief of staff in late July, 2017, has cooled in recent months, despite the fact that Trump had asked Kelly to stay on until 2020 over the summer.

Although nothing is final, sources familiar with the situation say that President Trump is actively discussing replacing Kelly with Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Nick Ayers.

Kelly has been seen by many as a stabilizing force in a tumultuous White House.

After replacing former chief of staff Reince Priebus, Kelly implemented measures narrowing access to the Oval Office and restricting calls from outsiders into the White House in an effort to limit outside influence over the president.

Despite this, reports indicate that the president has oftentimes sidestepped Kelly’s measures, and has publicly wavered in his promise to keep Kelly on for the duration of his first term.

“There are certain things that I don’t like that he does,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News Sunday in November. “There are a couple of things where it’s just not his strength. It’s not his fault. It’s not his strength.”

He later in that same interview, he added that Kelly may choose to depart of his own volition.

Kelly’s relationship with other high ranking members of White House staff has similarly deteriorated in recent months.

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Members of White House staff claimed in October that Kelly got into a heated argument with national security adviser, John Bolton, over a border policy that resulted in the chief of staff storming out of the White House’s West Wing.

Article by Oresti Avlonitis