The White House Chief of Staff has had an array of disputes with officials from the NSC and the East Wing in recent months.
WASHINGTON — John Kelly, mired in conflicts with a widening array of officials from the National Security Council to the office of the first lady, may soon depart the Trump administration, according to seven people familiar with the discussions.
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Kelly has also gotten on the wrong side of first lady Melania Trump over staffing issues and travel requests. Some of the disputes with the East Wing have escalated to the president, the seven people familiar with the clashes said.
“There have been instances where the East Wing staff were not treated as equals to the male-dominated decision makers in Chief Kelly’s office,” one White House official said. “Promotions were denied then finally granted after months of requests,” the official said.
Melania Trump raised concerns with her husband earlier this year, amid the height of the controversy over his alleged affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels, that Kelly had repeatedly denied her requests to promote some of her aides, two White House officials told NBC News.
The requests languished for months as Kelly insisted there weren’t enough available positions for the first lady’s aides to have senior titles, these people said. During this same period however, West Wing officials working for Kelly received promotions, the White House officials said.
Having learned of the dispute, the president was furious and told Kelly to give the first lady, who has a smaller East Wing staff than her recent predecessors, what she wanted, these people said. “I don’t need this shit,” Trump told Kelly, according to one person familiar with the conversation.
Kelly wouldn’t be the first chief-of-staff to upset a first lady but history has shown that such disputes are tough to overcome.
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NEW: After clashes with the First Lady and others, Chief of Staff Kelly may soon exit the Trump White House, according to 7 people familiar with the discussions. https://t.co/PQuTfv9qGJ
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 13, 2018
BREAKING: In an extraordinary statement from the Office of the First Lady, the office publicly declares its position that Deputy National Security Advisor Mira Ricardel “no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House.” https://t.co/pwR9fpe1cR
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 13, 2018
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