President Trump heaped praise on White House chief of staff John Kelly during a speech Tuesday, suggesting that Kelly could be spared as he continues to reshuffle his senior staff and Cabinet.
Speaking to hundreds of U.S. Marines at Miramar Air Station in San Diego, Trump said Kelly probably “likes what you do better than what he does but he’s doing a great job.”
“He misses you,” the president said of Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general.
Trump’s positive comments about Kelly came hours after he fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who, like Kelly, had often faced rumors about his standing with the president. Vanity Fair reported recently that Kelly tried to convince Trump not to impose steel and aluminum tariffs last week on imports to the U.S., renewing tension between him and the president.
Kelly had previously drawn the ire of Trump for botching the resignation of ex-staff secretary Rob Porter, who was forced out last month after facing allegations of domestic abuse.
“‘Trump is red-hot about Kelly trying to control him,'” Vanity Fair wrote, quoting a source close to the White House.
Kelly’s ability to escape the chopping block, despite escalating tensions with senior advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, may be due to fatigue inside the White House over the endless slew of staff departures.
In addition to Tillerson, who was warned by Kelly of his imminent firing, White House communications director Hope Hicks, National Economic Council Chairman Gary Cohn and Kushner spokesman Josh Raffel have all announced they will be leaving over the next few weeks.
