White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows isn't having the best time right now.
Since Meadows replaced Mick Mulvaney as President Trump's right-hand man at the end of March, the national crises he's had to oversee have been nonstop. Meadows has reportedly admitted the job is already taking a toll on him, and has since told staffers he'll only stay another year at most if Trump is re-elected this fall, Politico reports.
Before he joined the West Wing, Meadows, formerly a member of Congress from North Carolina, was known for "maintaining friendships with Democrats ... even as he torpedoed their plans" — part of the reason he was hired and is still on Trump's good side, Politico writes. But from Trump's botched Bible photo op to a "complete mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis," Meadows' tenure has since coincided with "one of the worst stretches of the Trump presidency," Chris Wipple, the author of a book on White House chiefs of staff, tells Politico.
"It is mission impossible being Trump’s chief of staff," Wipple went on to acknowledge. Yet that hasn't stopped several administration officials from saying they're "underwhelmed" with Meadows' work, Politico writes. Meadows led the conservative House Freedom Caucus but hasn't gotten Trump to adhere to those values, and his watch has coincided with a wave of low morale that has driven several staffers out the door, some conservatives say.
Despite all his struggles, Meadows "does not regret taking the job because he enjoys the perks of working in the White House," namely flying on Air Force One, Politico writes.
Meadows did not respond to a request for comment from Politico. Read more at Politico.