Head rolls as White House fails

Viper’s nest has achieved little

SIX months into his presidency, Donald Trump is saddled with a stalled agenda, a West Wing that resembles a viper’s nest, a pile of investigations and a Republican Party that’s starting to break away.

Mr Trump indirectly acknowledged the troubled state of his unconventional White House on Friday when he abruptly replaced his chief of staff with hardnosed retired general John Kelly, who was Homeland Security secretary.

Mr Kelly will take the desk of Reince Priebus, a Republican operative who was sceptical of Mr Trump’s electoral prospects last year and ultimately came to be viewed by the president as weak and ineffective.

Many insiders blamed Mr Priebus for the Senate not killing off one of Mr Trump’s pet hates, Obamacare.

Mr Kelly’s success depends on factors outside his control, including whether Mr Trump’s squabbling staff can put aside their rivalries that have sown disorder and have complicated efforts to enact policy.

But the main problem is curbing the president’s penchant for drama and unpredictability, and his tendency to focus more on settling scores than promoting a policy agenda.

No other aide or adviser has been successful on that front.

“Trump has spent a lot of his political capital on nothing but defending his own reputation,” Alex Conant, a Republican strategist, said of Mr Trump’s first six months in office.

“There is no sustained strategy. His attention seems to shift with whatever is leading cable news at that moment.”

To this point, Mr Trump has failed to shepherd a single substantial piece of legislation into law.

His only major accomplishments have been by executive power – rolling back regulations and undoing a few of his predecessor’s achievements, like the Paris climate treaty – along with his successful nomination of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.