31 July, 2017
Now, Reince Priebus is out of that job as White House chief of staff in the most significant shake-up of the rocky Trump presidency.
Trump replaced Priebus on Friday with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, an explosive move that ends a turbulent six-month tenure.
But Congressman Peter King, who accompanied Trump aboard the Air Force One to NY and back, told reporters that he saw no indication of Priebus' exit during the flight.
In the swirl of Shakespearean intrigue that surrounds Donald Trump's White House, Priebus' fortunes have always been a source of speculation, given his limited role, colorful band of rivals and the president's public slights.
Trump's announcement on Twitter said, "I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff".
Priebus has been under fire for months, seeing one White House ally after another resign or leave, culminating in the departure of press secretary Sean Spicer a week ago. "I used to think, when I'd go to all of my trips up to Bethesda, Walter Reed, I'll go to the funerals with the secretaries of defense, that I could somehow imagine what it would be like", Kelly said.
Scarmucci called a reporter for the New Yorker on Thursday and launched into a profanity-laced tirade in which he voiced his contempt for Priebus and other top Trump advisers.
The newly appointed communications director took dead aim at the chief of staff online and on-air this week, calling him a "paranoid schizophrenic".
He has been serving as the secretary of homeland security.
As word spread about Priebus' dismissal, some reporters got up close to Priebus' vehicle, taking cell photos and such.
Trump had lost confidence in Priebus, privately questioning his competence after major legislative items failed to pass the US Congress, a Trump confidant said.
But it was the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci to communications director last Friday that set off Priebus' final unraveling. "It's very frustrating. But that said, we have a sacred mission to protect the country and I'm proud of these people, and we'll protect them".
Meanwhile, Trump continues to publicly decry his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions, tweeting this week that Sessions is "beleaguered".
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.
He will start work on Monday, a White House spokesperson says.
The recent revelation that Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with a Russian government lawyer has magnified those questions and fueled Trump's frustration over leaks to the media. Asked what he meant by including Priebus, Scaramucci said, "If Reince wants to explain he's not the leaker, he can do that".
Kelly admits that he did not get off on the best foot with Congress. He defended the orders to reporters and lawmakers and insisted that he indeed had been part of the decision-making process.
Pence also congratulated Kelly, writing, "I know you will do a great job!"
