President Donald Trump risks reviving the strife and turf battles that characterised his West Wing before Chief of Staff John Kelly’s arrival after announcing on Saturday that the retired Marine general would depart by the end of the year.
Kelly’s authority, drawn from more than 40 years in the military, helped him tamp down infighting that broke out between factions of Trump’s administration almost from the day he took office. In his absence, some White House aides fear that independent-minded senior officials and Cabinet members may once again seek to fill the vacuum.
Trump said he’ll name a successor within days. The most likely replacement is Vice-President Mike Pence’s top aide Nick Ayers, a young political operative who’s largely kept Pence out of the daily drumbeat of drama that’s been a hallmark of Trump’s presidency.