President Trump has reportedly considered eliminating the role of the White House chief of staff, NBC News reports. Amid administration shakeups and a dizzying number of vacant positions, Trump has floated firing Chief of Staff John Kelly and not naming a successor, people familiar with the president's thinking say.
Kelly has been described as a stabilizing force in the White House, serving as the gatekeeper of who can have an audience with the president and what papers can cross his desk. A forthcoming book about presidential chiefs of staff claims they have a huge impact on an administration's agenda, and that their "actions — and inactions ... have defined the course of our country."
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One person close to the administration said such a scenario wouldn't be much different than how things already are. "Donald Trump is the chief of staff," the person said. "He already calls the shots."
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