After the abrupt ousting of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, President Donald Trump may be moving towards more position clear outs in the coming weeks as the residual enthusiasm of the midterm elections continues to unfold. Rumors are that Department Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Chief of Staff John Kelly may be the next administration officials to be shown the exit.
The developments come after a colorful post-midterm election press conference held at the White House, wherein the president was asked about the status of any soon-to-be-named outgoing members of his administration, but Trump refused to give any information on future switches, reiterating that shake ups often happen after midterm elections. President Trump’s “you’re fired” attitude has led him to be a record-setting commander-in-chief as no elected first-term president in the past century has had this much Cabinet turnover this early in the presidency.
Reportedly, for months, President Trump has been blocked by Kelly on asking Nielsen for her resignation, claiming the DHS head is not being aggressive enough on immigration and fully-enforcing the White House’s stricter border policies. In October, Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton had a dramatic confrontation over increased border crossings in the West Wing amidst caravans of Latin American migrants making their way towards the U.S.
Nevertheless, Kelly and the President’s relationship has become politically strained over the last year that has been overshadowed by a sense of controversy and contention that has dominated Kelly’s decorum with Trump and others within the White House.
In a report from ABC News, Vice President Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff Nick Ayers could replace the former four-star Marine General as senior aide to President Trump, with some within the administration saying it is a “done deal.” Ayers was one of the architects of Vice President Pence’s tour of vulnerable Republican districts before the midterm elections, including appearances in Virginia.
