An often-heard rumor in D.C. is that White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly will resign sometime this summer, and President Trump will serve as his own chief of staff — making him the first president since John F. Kennedy to work without someone in the top aide position.
Newsmax posed the question to Kellyanne Conway at a press breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, June 6. Conway, one of Trump’s closest advisers, dismissed the suggestion he would serve as his own chief of staff.
“The rumors about different individuals — including our chief of staff, four-star Gen. John Kelly, [have been] played far too long and far too deeply,” she said. “I get it. Even a stopped watch is right two times a day. Eventually, one of us will leave and you’ll say, We were right, all along.”
Conway said of Kelly: “I appreciate serving under Chief of Staff John Kelly. I hope he will stay. I think he does a fantastic job under the president of the United States and on behalf of the country we all love. He continues to serve in this role, as he has, with honor and dignity, and he’s deserving of respect for many, many decades [of service].”
Regarding the president serving as his own chief of staff, the White House counselor and former Trump campaign manager made it clear she felt that was out of the question.
“This president is not his own chief of staff, “ she told me. “He’s the chief executive and the commander in chief and he is the president of the United States, and he knows what that entails. He relies on his chief of staff, his Cabinet, his staff, outside advisers and old friends, too, to be part of his decision-making and thinking process. But the chief of staff functions as his own person more than anyone else.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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