He's fired: Reince Priebus out as White House chief of staff

White House is at war with transparency not with leaks
Anthony Scaramucci the new White House communications director speaks to reporters July 25
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31 July, 2017

Priebus' hold on the White House job has always been in question, more so this week after Trump's new communications director badmouthed him to a reporter for the New Yorker.

Trump appointed Kelly, a retired Marine general, to secretary of Homeland Security on December 7, 2016 and he was confirmed on January, 20, 2017 the first day of Trump's administration. He was hired with the goal of bringing more discipline to the White House, a senior White House official said.

On Friday, as Trump traveled to NY, he took both Scaramucci and Priebus on Air Force One with him.

The former Republican National Committee chairman struggled to navigate an administration riven with conflict, where top aides must compete with the president's daughter and son-in-law for influence.

Priebus' already tense relationship with Scaramucci took a darker turn over the past two days when the communications chief suggested in a late-night tweet that Priebus was one of the "leakers" that Trump has railed against.

"I think the president wanted to go a different direction", Priebus told CNN just hours after his exit was announced.

"The president has a right to hit a reset button".

"One friend said Priebus told him he was frustrated that he could not assert control over basic White House functions", the Post reports.

King said Trump told him about the change as they were about to get off the flight.

Priebus said in a statement that it was one of the greatest honours of his life to serve the United States president and the country.

The announcement of Mr Priebus's departure came after three Republican senators defied White House pressure to vote against health care reforms. Trump has previously lost a deputy chief of staff, national security adviser, communications director and press secretary.

John Kelly has been toughened by war and tragedy. "Secretary Kelly is a star, and he'll do a good job". He is a Great American. and a Great Leader. "Reince is a good man", Trump said.

The president followed with tweets thanking Reince Priebus, who has served as chief of staff since Trump's inauguration.

But Priebus had also been a steady hand inside a West Wing that often found itself off-balance. In a highly unusual arrangement, Trump said at the outset that Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon would serve as "equal partners" in implementing his agenda. "I can't think of a better person than Gen John Kelly to succeed me and I wish him God's blessings and great success".

President Donald Trump tweeted that Kelly is "a true star" of the administration.

But Priebus allies felt he was an important link to establishment Republicans in Washington as the capital attempted to adjust to the anti-establishment style of the president.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a longtime friend of Priebus', said he "left it all out on the field, for our party and our country".


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