Trump swears in new chief of staff
President Trump on Monday swore in John Kelly as his new chief of staff.
Sitting beside Kelly in the Oval Office, Trump predicted his former Homeland Security secretary would do a “spectacular job” leading the West Wing and advancing his stalled agenda.
“We look forward to — if it’s possible — an even better job as chief of staff,” Trump told reporters.
{mosads}Immediately after his swearing in, the president and Kelly attended a Cabinet meeting at the White House. Trump told Cabinet members Kelly would go down in history as one of the “great” chiefs of staff “ever.”
Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general who is replacing ousted chief of staff Reince Priebus, enters a White House wracked by crisis and internal strife.
His tenure starts just days after Trump and Republican leaders in Congress suffered a stinging defeat with the failure of legislation repealing ObamaCare. The administration is struggling under the weight of the Russia investigation and top staffers have engaged in bitter feuds with rivals in the West Wing.
Trump said Kelly would be successful, pointing to his record leading the Department of Homeland Security, where he said he got “tremendous results” cracking down on illegal immigration and improving border security.
The president is also said to be impressed with Kelly’s military experience. The 67-year-old general previously led the U.S. Southern Command under former President Barack Obama after a stint leading troops in Iraq.
But Kelly’s success will in large part depend on whether the president empowers him to impose control over the White House staff, the advice the president receives and his social media habits, which have often muddled the White House’s message.
Trump spent much of Monday morning arguing there is no chaos at the White House after media reports focused on feuding within his staff — including new White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci’s expletive-laden screed about Priebus.
“Highest Stock Market EVER, best economic numbers in years, unemployment lowest in 17 years, wages raising, border secure, S.C.: No WH chaos!” he tweeted early in the morning.
“We’re doing very well. We have a tremendous base,” Trump told reporters. ”The country is optimistic. And I think the general will just add to it.”
This report was updated at 10:26 a.m.
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