WASHINGTON\u2014Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of Staff, Nick Ayers, announced on Twitter Dec. 9 that he will be…<\/b>
\nWASHINGTON\u2014Vice President Mike Pence\u2019s chief of Staff, Nick Ayers, announced on Twitter Dec. 9 that he will be leaving by the end of the year while thanking both President Donald Trump and Pence \u201cfor the honor to serve our Nation at The White House.\u201d
\u201cI will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the # MAGA team to advance the cause,\u201d he wrote, before hashtagging his home state of Gerogia.
Ayers announced his departure almost in tandem with Trump announcing his chief of staff, John Kelly, will be leaving by the end of the year.
\u201cWe\u2019ll be announcing who will be taking John\u2019s place. I\u2019ll be announcing that over the next day or two,\u201d Trump told reporters Dec. 8 on his way to see an Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, adding that Kelly was \u201ca great guy.\u201d
It was widely reported that Ayers was Trump\u2019s top pick to succeed Kelly.
Ayers, 36, has advised a series of high-profile Republican governors and has earned a small fortune selling ads to political campaigns. His political experience would have brought another set of skills to the president\u2019s inner circle that was not part of to Kelly\u2019s background.
Trump told reporters his next chief of staff might be in place only on \u201can interim basis.\u201d
In a November interview with Fox News, Trump said he and Kelly \u201cget along well,\u201d but didn\u2019t promise that he would remain in his current position through 2020 as he had said in July.
\u201cThere are certain things I love what he does. And there are certain things that I don\u2019t like that he does, that aren\u2019t his strength,\u201d he said. \u201cJohn, at some point, is going to want to move on. John will move on.\u201d
Kelly replaced former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus in July 2017.
At the time, Trump said he believed Kelly would \u201cdo a spectacular job,\u201d and lauded his time at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) where he oversaw a reduction in the number of illegal border crossings and implemented Trump\u2019s travel ban on people from terror-prone countries.
\u201cThere\u2019s been very little controversy, which is really amazing by itself,\u201d Trump said, praising Kelly\u2019s role in implementing his policies at DHS.
But with the new year less than a month away and 2020 getting nearer on the horizon, Trump is likely looking to his re-election campaign in 2020 and making sure he has the right people in the right places.
Trump announced on Dec. 7 that State Department Spokesperson and Undersecretary Heather Nauert will be taking over for U. S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who announced her resignation in October. The same day, Trump announced that William Barr will be taking over as the head of the Department of Justice for Matthew Whitaker, who has been acting Attorney General since Trump fired Jeff Sessions in November.
Also on Dec. 8, Trump announced Mark Milley will be the new head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing Gen. Joseph Dunford, whose terms ends next summer.
It\u2019s not clear what Kelly will be doing after he leaves the White House. In his announcement, Trump said he \u201cwill be leaving\u2013I don\u2019t know if I can say \u2018retiring,\u2019\u201d implying he may be taking another job, or has not decided on his next steps.
Kelly is set to announce his departure to his staff Dec. 10, reports The New York Times .
Reuters contributed to this report<\/p>\n