President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that John F. Kelly would take over as White House chief of staff, replacing the beleaguered Reince Priebus.
Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general, has been serving as Homeland Security secretary.
Priebus, 45, became a target of Trump’s ire shortly into his term as White House chief of staff.
Trump has consistently applied pressure on Priebus and reportedly given him various deadlines to get a tumultuous White House in order.
Reuters, citing a senior White House official, reported Friday that Trump told Priebus two weeks ago that he would replace him as chief of staff. The Wall Street Journal, likewise, said Priebus told the newspaper in a text message that he “resigned privately” Thursday.
After the announcement Friday, the president offered kind words about Priebus while delivering praise for Kelly.
“Reince is a good man. John Kelly will do a fantastic job. General Kelly has been a star, done an incredible job thus far, respected by everybody,” Trump told reporters who had traveled with him Friday on Air Force One. “He’s a great great American. Reince is a good man.”
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