WASHINGTON – John Kelly’s 17 months in the White House as the president’s chief of staff had its ups and downs. Kelly, a former Marine general,…
WASHINGTON – John Kelly’s 17 months in the White House as the president’s chief of staff had its ups and downs.
Kelly, a former Marine general, was brought in by President Donald Trump to help quell the chaos within his administration that often spilled into public view.
His tenure, though, was marked by frequent firings and internal turmoil, and a tense relationship between him and the president. For months, it’s been rumored that Kelly would soon leave the White House and on Saturday the president announced Kelly would be stepping down at the end of the December. Trump also said he will soon announce a replacement for Kelly.
Here are of few key moments from Kelly’s tenure within the administration:
Kelly got the ball rolling quick. During his first day on the job as Trump’s new chief of staff, he fired communications director Anthony Scaramucci.
Scaramucci only lasted 10 days in the White House and was ousted days after an expletive-filled interview with the New Yorker in which he verbally assaulted both Reince Priebus, the former chief of staff, and Steve Bannon, who at the times was the president’s chief strategist.
Kelly made clear that he was there to help organize the White House and bring a more militarized approach to the running of the administration.
Kelly also helped orchestrate the departure of Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Bannon was an architect of Trump’s campaign and had the president’s ear but frequently clashed with other members of the staff on trade, immigration and other policy issues.
Bannon’s departure was announced in August 2017, a month after Kelly’s start in the White House.
Kelly strongly denied news reports in April that he allegedly called Trump “an idiot” and threatened to resign.
