Why John Kelly is ‘ready to quit’ as Donald Trump’s chief of staff
Kelly reportedly called White House a ‘miserable place to work’

The White House has denied reports that President Donald Trump is searching for a replacement for John Kelly following repeated resignation threats by the fed-up chief of staff.
Tensions have been high between the pair for some time. The president is irritated by the strict system that Kelly has imposed on him, which Trump beleves conflicts with his freewheeling leadership style, CNN reports. Kelly in turn has been horrified by Trump's unpredictable outbursts and has threatened to quit on a number of occasions.
Kelly has reportedly described the White House a “miserable place to work” and is said to have called Trump an “idiot”, according to Business Insider.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Time magazine reports Kelly as saying that “he’d be happy if he made it to the one-year mark in the position” - an anniversary that he is due to reach in late July.
Rumours are already circulating about who might replace him as chief of staff, despite the White House denying the reports.
“It is absolutely not true and that it is fake news. I’ve also spoken to General Kelly, who said this was news to him,” White House spokesperson Lindsay Walters said yesterday.
But similar denials have meant nothing in the past. The White House dismissed reports of the departure of then-national security adviser H.R. McMaster shortly before he left.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
According to sources close to Trump, possible candidates to take over from Kelly include the president’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, and Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Nick Ayers, says Time.
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
‘Used correctly, the drug is safe’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Shutdown: Democrats stand firm, at a cost
Feature With Trump refusing to negotiate, Democrats’ fight over health care could push the government toward a shutdown
-
TikTok: A little help from Trump’s friends
Feature Trump’s new TikTok deal would hand the app over to 'his billionaire allies,' ignoring national security concerns
-
Trump promotes an unproven Tylenol-autism link
Feature Trump gave baseless advice to pregnant women, claiming Tylenol causes autism in children
-
Trump: Demanding the prosecution of his political foes
Feature Trump orders Pam Bondi to ‘act fast’ and prosecute James Comey, Letitia James, and Adam Schiff