Trump chief of staff John F. Kelly ‘leaving at end of year’
WASHINGTON: John F. Kelly, the retired fourstar marine general who became US President Donald Trump’s second chief of staff, will be leaving that post by the end of the month after struggling for a year and ahalf to bring order to a White House beset by chaos thanks to the president’s impetuous behaviour — and occasionally Kelly’s own.
Trump yesterday confirmed Kelly’s imminent departure.
‘‘John Kelly will be leaving at the end of the year,’’ the president said, adding he would announce a replacement — perhaps ‘‘on an interim basis’’ — in a day or two.
Speculation has focused on Nick Ayers, a young but seasoned Republican operative who is now chief of staff to Vicepresident Mike Pence.
Although the president and his chief of staff reportedly are no longer on speaking terms, Trump called Kelly, who initially served as his Homeland Security secretary, ‘‘a great guy’’ and said ‘‘I appreciate his service very much’’.
‘‘I did something wrong and God punished me, I guess,’’ Kelly said in March at a Homeland Security event.
From the start, Kelly saw his job as helping to get rid of troublesome White House aides, and he oversaw a record turnover of senior staff in the administration, including several Cabinet officers.
Trump announced yesterday he would nominate fourstar army general Mark Milley to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Trump said on Twitter that Milley, now the army chief of staff, would take over as the top US military commander from Marinegeneral Joseph Dunford at a date to be determined.
Milley’s appointment to the top military post would have to be confirmed by the Senate.
Trump’s announcement comes months earlier than expected. Dunford would normally remain as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff until a scheduled October 1, 2019, handover.
A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said indications were that Dunford would complete his term, referring questions to the White House.
Milley was ‘‘a battletested commander and Pentagon reformer who will be a worthy successor to General Dunford’’, Lindsey Graham, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, calling Dunford ‘‘one of the most dedicated officers I’ve ever known’’.