Ayers likely to become Trump’s chief of staff as Kelly exits

John Kelly, chief of staff to the US president, will leave by the end of this month in a continuing churn of White House personnel that has reached levels unparalleled by any previous administration.

President Donald Trump announced Kelly’s departure to before leaving the city.

“John Kelly will be leaving, I don’t know if I can say retiring,” Trump said, adding that he will be leaving at the end of the year.

“We’ll be announcing who will be taking John’s place,” he said.

Nicky Ayers, currently chief of staff to vice-president Mike Pence, leads the race with the reported backing of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who are said to have been chiefly responsible for Kelly’s ouster.

The outgoing chief of staff had sought to regulate the duo’s access to the president as he had reportedly sought to bring discipline to a chaotic White House.

Kelly is Trump’s second chief of staff, hauled over from the department of homeland security to replace Reince Priebus, a Republican party official who had never quite gained the president’s trust.

Unexpected departures from the White House started within weeks of the president’s inauguration in January 2017, and have shown no sings of a let-up. Recent high-profile exits include US ambassador to UN Nikki Haley, attorney general Jeff Sessions and now Kelly, from a position that is said to be the gatekeeper to the Oval Office and president.

WASHINGTON: