President Donald Trump has confidence in John Kelly and is not contemplating firing his chief of staff in the wake of the Robert Porter abuse allegations controversy, multiple White House officials said on Sunday morning.
Porter resigned as White House staff secretary Wednesday after allegations of domestic abuse surfaced from his two former wives. The president and Kelly were criticized for poorly handling the initial response to the allegations and to Porter’s departure. Reports circulated of Kelly’s job being in jeopardy after it became known he was aware of the accusations against Porter months ago.
“I have spoken to the president last night about this very issue, and he wanted me to re-emphasize to everyone, including this morning, that he has full confidence in current Chief of Staff General John Kelly, and that he’s not actively searching for replacements,” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week.”
Conway panned the “unsourced stories out there” that cast doubt on Trump’s confidence in Kelly and predicted an imminent chief of staff shakeup.
[lz_ndn video=33520717]
White House legislative director Marc Short also came to Kelly’s defense, saying Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Trump “has absolute confidence” in Kelly and that the president’s chief of staff is doing “an outstanding job.”
“General Kelly, in my mind, is an American hero. There’s few families in America that have sacrificed more for our country,” Short said. “John Kelly knows that he serves at the pleasure of the president and he will step aside as soon as — any time the president doesn’t want him to be there. But John Kelly has not offered his resignation.”
Similarly, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney said on “Fox News Sunday” that chatter about Kelly’s departure from the White House “is much ado about nothing” because the president “absolutely” isn’t considering ousting Kelly.
“And I think all the stories about replacing General Kelly are mostly being fed by people who are unhappy that they’ve lost access to the president under General Kelly’s leadership as chief of staff,” Mulvaney said.
“I’m extraordinarily pleased with the job the chief has been doing. Everybody in the West Wing is. The president is, as well. I think the talk about the chief’s departure is much ado about nothing,” the OMB director added.
Mulvaney said he hasn’t talked with Kelly about “his status” or “his standing” in the White House “because I don’t think it’s an issue.”
Related: Trump’s White House Staff Secretary Resigns Amid Abuse Accusations
“There’s a lot of good things that have been happening since the chief is there. I think the president sees that. The results speak for themselves,” Mulvaney added.
Even Jeh Johnson, who served as Homeland Security secretary under former President Barack Obama, doubted Kelly’s impending removal.
“As long as Donald Trump is president, our government is best served if John Kelly is in the job of chief of staff,” Johnson said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“That might be a minority view among my Democratic friends, but that is my view,” Johnson added. “I encourage John to hunker down and do his job.”
PoliZette writer Kathryn Blackhurst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter.
(photo credit, homepage image: U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Any parties involved in this imagery do not imply endorsement.)
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.