John Kelly and John Bolton reportedly got into a screaming match outside the Oval Office
It was another day in paradise for White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton, as they got into a screaming match outside of the Oval Office on Thursday.
Three people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg the argument revolved around immigration, border crossing, and how Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is running the agency. Nielsen was at the White House for meetings, the sources said, but she was not present for the profanity-filled argument. Several White House aides did hear the intense fight, Bloomberg reports, and were convinced one of the men would resign on the spot.
Bolton was critical of the Department of Homeland Security, while Kelly, who previously served as the department's secretary, defended Nielsen, his former deputy. Over the last several days, President Trump has been angrily tweeting about migrants headed for the border from Honduras, and he has threatened to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border if the caravan isn't stopped. One person told Bloomberg that Trump sided with Bolton, although the president later told reporters he didn't know there'd been an argument.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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