Following days of rumors, sniping and chatter that General John Kelly would be stepping down as White House Chief Of Staff, President Trump confirmed that it was true today.
The president told reporters that “John Kelly will be leaving at the end of the year,” as he prepared to depart for the annual Army-Navy college football game in Philadelphia.
It marks the end of an often turbulent time for the retired United States Marine Corps general who often found himself as a proxy target for Democrats and a media that despite flailing away, have continued to fail to land a haymaker on Trump.
President Trump: "John Kelly will be leaving at the end of the year. We'll be announcing who will be taking John's place, it might be on an interim basis, I'll be announcing that over the next day or two" pic.twitter.com/hJh1EG61wL
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 8, 2018
Via The Hill, “John Kelly to leave White House at year’s end”:
President Trump announced on Saturday that White House chief of staff John Kelly will leave his job by the end of the year, the latest and highest-profile move in a shake-up of Trump’s team following Republican losses in November’s midterm elections.
Kelly was picked by Trump in July 2017 to bring order to his chaotic White House. But their relationship gradually deteriorated as the president bucked at the constraints the retired Marine Corps general tried to impose.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he would select Kelly’s successor, possibly someone on an interim basis, within “a day or two.”
“John Kelly will be leaving, retiring. I don’t know if I can say ‘retiring,’ ” Trump said on the South Lawn before leaving for Philadelphia to attend the Army-Navy football game. “But he’s a great guy. John Kelly will be leaving at the end of the year.”
Trump added that he “appreciate[s] his service very much.”
A dedicated former military man known for his ability to maintain order, General Kelly assumed the job and as his first act, ousted the colorful Anthony”The Mooch” Scaramucci from his role as communications director following a series of controversies.
He was quickly attacked by the rabid left as being a racist for blasting Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson – of the multicolored cowboy hats – as an “empty barrel” who makes too much noise after Wilson cynically exploited the grieving widow of a U.S. soldier who was killed in Niger.
The media will quickly pounce on the news as being yet another sign that Mueller is closing in but historically speaking, presidencies tend to have periods of turnover especially after elections.
Granted that the Trump administration has seen higher rates of it but that is largely a result of White House staff being constantly under attack by a political left, a corrupt media and a rotten establishment that refuses to accept the legitimacy of a presidential election.
He was a good soldier at a time when President Trump needed him and he will go out with the same class that he served with.
No formal announcement on a replacement has been made.
