President Trump is looking for loyalty among his staff, and hiring Anthony Scaramucci seemed like a great idea. Encouraged to hire Scaramucci by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, President Trump was looking for a hard-nosed, no nonsense communications director who would be able to stop the leaks in communication throughout the West Wing.
The White House’s new Chief of Staff John F. Kelly was not impressed with the obnoxious communications director after he unloaded on a New York Times reporter against both Reince Preibus, who Mr. Kelly replaced, and Steve Bannon, the current Chief White House Strategist.
Bringing his concerns to President Trump, he agreed that it was necessary to fire the new communications director after only ten days of service.
President Trump quickly forced Anthony Scaramucci out from his post when it became clear that “the Mooch”, simply went to far in the eyes of the president and the administration.
Kelly is a former four-star Marine Corps general. He is not going to put up with a lack of professionalism and decorum from White House staff, and “the Mooch” was out on Kelly’s first day.
President Trump continues to post on Twitter that there is “No WH chaos,” but the staff shifts clearly indicate the opposite. The White House needs a solid chain of command more than ever. Kelly may be just the Chief of Staff the Trump administration needs to help maintain professionalism. Whether there is chaos or not, Kelly just as qualified as anyone to get everything under control.
Spending only ten days at the White House, Mr. Scaramucci made it clear that he wasn’t going to be swayed by politics. He is a wealthy man, one who has made his money in New York as a financier. His bold style as a new player at the White House made others in the administration quickly uncomfortable. Sean Spicer, the Trump administration’s first press secretary, quit his position after learning about Scaramucci’s hire. Mr. Priebus left his position after Mr. Scaramucci made allegations that he was leaking information and trying to undermine the President to the press.
Scaramucci claimed to report directly to the president during a White House briefing, but this was quickly found not to be true.
After only ten days on staff, it seems that Scaramucci may have shaken up the White House staff, just as President Trump intended. He demands loyalty, and those that are not loyal to his political agenda need to move on.
Mr. Kelly was promoted from Secretary of Homeland Security to Chief of Staff in the hopes that he will be able to revive what is currently a stalled legislative agenda for the president.
Now is not the time for political grandstanding. North Korea is showing signs of strong nuclear activity, Russia is making aggressive moves diplomatically, and there continues to be US soldiers fighting in Iraq and Syria. Mr. Kelly has been appointed at a critical point, as the administration may soon be faced with tough choices.
While Mr. Kelly demands discipline among White House staff, there was already a leak to the press a few days after he began working.
The leak was about Mr. Kelly.
According to CNN, Kelly was extremely upset when former FBI director James B. Comey was fired, and this almost caused him to resign his post within the administration.
Mr. Kelly was resistant to take over for Mr. Priebus at first, but once he was guaranteed complete authority over personnel by President Trump, he agreed to take the position.
In staff meetings, Mr. Kelly is also quite clear that there will no longer be an inefficient or disorganized decision making process. Any proposals for policies, recommendations for personnel and other issues must go through him first. This includes Mr. Bannon, Mr. Kushner, and Ms. Trump, who don’t have the experience Kelly does.
“General Kelly has the full authority to operate within the White House, and all staff will report to him,” Ms. Sanders stated to reporters.
President Trump will continue to oversee this position and ensure that General Kelly is treating the staff with respect. Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner are both senior advisors at the White House and have no political experience until now.
~ Liberty Planet
