Trump ousts Priebus as his chief of staff, appoints Kelly
29 July 2017 10:25 PM IST
US President Donald Trump has abruptly fired his chief of staff Reince Priebus and replaced him with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly after the continuing feud among senior White House staffers came out in the open.
Priebus is the fifth top Trump administration official to be either sacked or to have resigned in the past six months.
Trump has previously lost a deputy chief of staff, national security adviser, communications director and press secretary.
Priebus's exit comes nearly a week after press secretary Sean Spicer quit the White House, apparently unhappy over the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director.
An ongoing public fighting between Scaramucci and Priebus had dominated the headlines in recent days. Scaramucci had described Priebus as a "paranoid schizophrenic".
Priebus previously served as the chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Trump tweeted the change after he returned to Washington from New York yesterday.
"I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff," he said. "He is a Great American and a Great Leader. John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration."
Kelly previously served as the Commander of the US Southern Command and was the commanding general of the Multi- National Force West in Iraq for a year from February 2008.
As Secretary of Homeland Security, Kelly has played a key role in the border security of the Trump administration.
Over the past a few weeks, Trump expressed frustration over leaks coming out of his White House. With a retired general in charge, he hopes to bring in discipline and end the chaos inside the White House.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Kelly would begin his new role on Monday.
"General John Kelly is one of the true stars of the administration. He has helped seal the border and reduced illegal immigration by 70 per cent," she said.
"He is respected by everyone, especially the people at the Department of Homeland Security. The entire administration loves him and no one is comparable," Sanders said.
Trump also thanked Priebus for his service.
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