03 August, 2017
The tweets, sent as Trump was returning to Washington on Air Force One with Priebus from a speech in NY, caught Capitol Hill and others off-guard even though Priebus' stature within the administration has been in sharp decline for some time.
"The first question is, can this president operate under any form of traditional communications regime, and I think the answer is no", said Rory Cooper, a Republican communications operative and managing director at Purple Strategies. Kelly has complete authority over all staff and operations at the White House. He insisted in a morning tweet there was "No WH chaos", then followed up in the evening with a satisfied "great day at the White House".
Lapan, who has worked with Kelly for over a decade, is at the top of a short list to serve as the White House's top official on messaging and communications. The three-sentence release concluded, "We wish him all the best".
Scaramucci was escorted from the White House grounds, becoming yet another high-ranking official to leave an administration that is barely beyond the six-month mark. But his entry into the White House had already led to the exit of Mr. Preibus, and Sean Spicer as Press Secretary. He was the third person to hold the communications director title in that time.
Trump, not Priebus, has been the primary cause of the administration's turmoil and aimless drift.
Scaramucci had been blocked from joining the administration during the transition by Priebus, only to eventually be hired by Trump last week.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said on "Fox News Sunday" that Trump would make a decision on the payments this week. It took weeks to edge alt-right anarchist and White House strategist Steve Bannon out of his seat on the National Security Council, a position he shouldn't have occupied in the first place.
Under pressure from a widening probe into his campaign's contacts with Russian Federation past year, Trump last week attacked his own attorney general for disloyalty, alarming his conservative base, before turning on Priebus.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that she hopes Kelly can "be effective", and "begin some very serious negotiation with the North and stop this program".
In another tweet on Monday, Trump hinted that Congress's own health insurance plan should be replaced for its failure to repeal Obamacare, his predecessor's signature reform of the USA health care system.
As the Scaramucci news spread, Kelly was in the East Room, smiling and taking pictures with guests who had gathered for a Medal of Honor presentation.
The president in May after he received a recommendation from Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. But I would also have to understand more about what it would be and all of those things.
