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Trump names John Kelly new White House chief

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Published: 06:41, 29 July 2017   Update: 15:18, 26 July 2020
Trump names John Kelly new White House chief

John Kelly

International Desk: President Donald Trump drove out his chief of staff on Friday, replacing Reince Priebus with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in an explosive move that ends a turbulent six-month tenure.

"The President wanted to go a different direction," Priebus told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room" Friday evening. "A president has a right to hit a reset button. I think it's a good time to hit the reset button. I think he was right to hit the reset button."

"I'm always going to be a Trump fan," Priebus said. "I'm on Team Trump and I look forward to helping him achieve his goals and his agenda for the American people."

In his interview with CNN, Priebus repeatedly said he submitted his resignation to the President privately on Thursday. Yet throughout the day on Friday, sources close to him insisted that he was not resigning.

But around 5 p.m. ET, Trump made the announcement on Twitter just after landing on Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington.

"I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff," Trump tweeted. "He is a Great American... and a Great Leader. John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration."

It wasn't until after the President named Kelly as his new chief of staff on Friday afternoon that sources close to Priebus reached out to reporters to say that he had resigned the day before. Other White House officials questioned that version of events, suggesting Priebus and his allies were trying to put a positive spin on the President's abrupt decision to bring on Kelly.

The move followed months of on-again, off-again speculation that Priebus would soon be ousted from an administration where he has consistently drawn heavy criticism for failing to stem the flow of leaks and struggled to impose a sense of order in a chaotic White House beset by controversies.

Priebus, who was brought on by the outsider President in large part because of his Washington relationships, also wound up carrying a hefty share of the blame for the White House's legislative stumbles, including the latest failure to pass a health care replacement bill.

Rumors of infighting among Trump's staff eventually devolved into all-out warfare, bursting dramatically into the open late Thursday with a vulgar screed from incoming communications director Anthony Scaramucci.

Priebus also lacked strong support from key members of Trump's inner circle. Two sources familiar with the situation said Trump's family -- including daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, among the President's most trusted advisers -- had lost faith in Priebus. One of those sources says Trump's kin urged the President to finally execute a long-pondered shake-up.

White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is expected to stay, at least for now, sources told CNN. The President has sounded out people recently about whether to keep Bannon, including some conservatives who convinced Trump that getting rid of Bannon would damage the President with his base, a person familiar with the conversation told CNN. One of those conservative voices was Rep. Mark Meadows, the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, who met with the President at the White House on Friday, a source familiar with the discussion said.

Priebus, who had traveled with Trump to Long Island for an event on gang violence, was seated inside a Secret Service van on the tarmac when the message came down. His vehicle split away from the motorcade and departed for Washington before Trump himself got off the plane.

New York Rep. Peter King, who traveled with Priebus and Trump to Long Island, said there was no hint of the impending shake-up during the flight, recalling Priebus' "poker face" aboard Air Force One.

Later, the outed chief of staff told CNN he had offered his resignation on Thursday.
"I think General (John) Kelly is a brilliant pick," Priebus said in the interview, conducted from the White House Roosevelt Room. "We'll be working on a transition here for a couple weeks together with General Kelly starting on Monday morning. So this is not like a situation where there are a bunch of ill will feelings."

Agencies


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