White House Chief of Staff to leave office at year-end

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Photo: Reuters

"John Kelly will be leaving office at the end of this year. I will announce his replacement in the next 1 to 2 days. Kelly has worked with me for nearly 2 years. I appreciate his work process,"AFPOn December 8, US President Donald Trump said on his way to Philadelphia to cheer on a military football game: "Although Kelly has contributed to establishing discipline in the Oval Office, his tenure has been fundamentally unfavorable."

However, Trump also said that Kelly's replacement would only take on the position temporarily until he finds a permanent successor.

Earlier, two sources familiar with the West Wing revealed that Mr. Kelly was expected to resign in the next few days after his relationship with Trump fell apart. According to the source, Trump had asked Kelly to continue in this position for another 2 years, but the relationship between them has worsened and the two have not spoken to each other in recent days.

The US president is also actively discussing a replacement for Kelly, but an official said no personnel have been finalized until Trump makes an official announcement. The leading candidate to replace Kelly is Nick Ayers, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence.

After replacing his predecessor Reince Priebus last summer, Kelly has run the White House with a strict policy, restricting access to the Oval Office for many individuals and having broad authority over personnel. However, Kelly has recently been seen as losing influence as Trump has begun to break the rules he set.