Reince Priebus Pushed Out After Rocky Tenure as Trump Chief of Staff
By PETER BAKER and MAGGIE HABERMANJULY 28, 2017
WASHINGTON — Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff who failed to impose order on a chaos-wracked West Wing, was pushed out on Friday after a stormy six-month tenure,
and President Trump replaced him with John F. Kelly, the secretary of homeland security and retired four-star Marine general.
Mr. Priebus represented a more conventional breed of senior White House figure, chosen by the president despite a career defined by
the calculations of traditional Republican Party politics, which Mr. Trump regards as part of “the swamp” he was elected to drain.
John Kelly is one of our great stars.”
But some advisers to Mr. Trump were opposed to the choice, arguing that Mr. Kelly did not have the political background for the job.
“I want to congratulate John Kelly, who has done an incredible job of secretary of homeland security,” the president said.
Mr. Scaramucci made clear when he was hired that he did not report to Mr. Priebus but directly to the president and by Wednesday night was publicly suggesting
that the chief of staff was a leaker and even threatened to seek an F. B.I.
“The president needs someone who understands the Trump constituency as his chief of staff, someone who has both administrative skills
and political savvy,” Roger Stone, Mr. Trump’s off-and-on adviser, said, anticipating Mr. Kelly’s selection before the announcement was made.
Always seeming to be on the edge of ouster, Mr. Priebus saw his fate finally sealed a week ago when Mr.
Trump hired Mr. Scaramucci, an edgy Wall Street financier, over the chief of staff’s objections.