In the Trump White House, a senior official not being fired is newsworthy. So Cockburn is eager to tell you that, after months of rumblings about an imminent departure, it appears White House chief of staff John Kelly is here to stay.
A source close to the president told Cockburn that efforts to nudge Kelly have failed for now. Corey Lewandowski has, we’re told, been agitating for Kelly to be removed for some time, it seems, and his efforts have failed. Womp womp!
Several damaging leaks in February and March appeared to threaten Kelly’s role at the White House. NBC reported that Kelly had referred to Trump as an “idiot” and Kelly was attacked for defending Rob Porter from calls for his firing after domestic abuse allegations regarding Porter surfaced.
NBC concluded that Kelly had until July to stay at the White House. The former Marine general became Trump’s top aide after Reince Priebus was ousted from the role last summer.
Certainly, Kelly is not a Trump loyalist in the Lewandowski mould. He entered the White House attempting to bring it under control, but he has apparently slowed down these efforts.
Politico reported this week that Kelly has started working out late in the morning, which White House officials view as “an indication of him having thrown in the towel on trying to have any control inside the West Wing.”
“While Kelly himself once believed he stood between Trump and chaos, he has told at least one person close to him that he may as well let the president do what he wants, even if it leads to impeachment — at least this chapter of American history would come to a close.”
Well, it seems, the Kelly in the White House chapter is still open. For now…
