The firing of Donald Trump’s second chief of staff in just under two years, Gen. John Kelly, has sparked a search for his replacement, and several names have been floated. The problem, according to POLITICO, is that no one wants to take the job.
NEW: A source close to Mulvaney tells me he is no longer interested in COS job, Mnuchin and Lighthizer sending out same signals…. list of potential replacements for Kelly shrinking by the hour.
— Nancy Cook (@nancook) December 10, 2018
Ayers only wanted to work for a fixed period of time as an acting COS but wanted carte blanche to run the place, hire & fire at his liking, etc.
Trump said no. List of potential replacements for Kelly now shrinking w/@AndrewRestuccia: https://t.co/xkDuvVU9WF
— Nancy Cook (@nancook) December 10, 2018
The bottom line is: There is no clear frontrunner to become the next White House COS — and no one really seems to want the job, having seen the end result for Reince Priebus and Gen. John Kelly.
— Nancy Cook (@nancook) December 10, 2018
It’s no surprise that no one wants to take on the role as Trump’s next top-ranking official to be fired. Former RNC Chairman Reince Priebus lasted less than a year before resigning thanks to endless insults and resistance from Trump. Kelly is leaving after numerous attempts to bring order to an undisciplined and unqualified presidential administration.
Trump’s first choice, Nick Ayers, was ultimately rejected when he agreed only to an interim term of a few months as the next chief of staff. Ayers currently serves as Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff. According to POLITICO:
‘The president has floated other possible candidates for the position in private conversations with allies in recent weeks, but he had all but settled on Ayers, White House aides said.
‘In the end, the two men were unable to agree on the terms of Ayers’ service. Ayers, who has young children, had told associates that he hoped to return to his home state of Georgia and could remain in the position only until the spring. Trump, on the other hand, wanted his next chief of staff to commit to serve for two years.’
The top remaining candidate to replace John Kelly are Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, budget director Mick Mulvaney and trade representative Robert Lighthizer. https://t.co/kz8FZ1Zakc
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 9, 2018
Reportedly, Trump’s second and third choices were his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, and trade representative Robert Lighthizer. Both refused to consider taking on the job. In addition to Trump’s history of firing officials shortly after hiring them, there’s the added risk of becoming mired down in the president’s current legal exposure.
USA Today writes that:
‘The shakeup comes as the president prepares to confront a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives starting next month while revelations and indictments continue to pour out of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.’
John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, will leave his post by the end of the year, President Trump says https://t.co/tV4noE1jHU
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 9, 2018
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license
