Former Trump 2016 deputy campaign manager David Bossie is on the short list to replace outgoing White House chief of staff John Kelly, two sources familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.
The former Trump campaign aide and veteran antagonist of the Clintons has had conversations with the White House about the role but has not been formally offered the position.
Bossie has served as the president of Citizens United and Citizens United Foundation since 2001. In 2016, he took a leave of absence to join the Trump campaign. After the president defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Bossie, 53, went on to become deputy executive director of the Trump presidential transition team.
The Washington Examiner confirmed reports that White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney is not among the candidates for the chief of staff position, despite reports over the weekend that he was among the top candidates for the role. Others reportedly in the running include House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.
Although he is reportedly on the list, Mnuchin is not interested in becoming chief of staff and has never expressed interest in the position, a source with direct knowledge of Mnuchin’s views told the Washington Examiner.
“The secretary feels that he could best serve the president of the country from his current position and he is committed to remaining at Treasury,” the source asserted. “He has never personally expressed interest [in the role].”
Mnuchin would be an intriguing choice for the position, given that he played a pivotal role in crafting and passing tax reform into law. Meadows said Monday afternoon that it would be “an incredible honor” to serve as Trump’s next chief of staff.
“Serving as Chief of Staff would be an incredible honor. The President has a long list of qualified candidates and I know he’ll make the best selection for his administration and for the country,” the North Carolina congressman said Monday.
The House Freedom Caucus chairman has developed a close working relationship with the president and speaks to him frequently. Meadows is also an intriguing choice given that House Democrats are expected to launch multiple investigations into the president and members of his administration when they take control of the lower chamber in January. Meadows has relationships in Congress and with top ranking Democrats on key committees, which could help the president as he navigates what is likely to be a tumultuous next two years in office.
Bossie, along with President Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, released a new book, Trump’s Enemies: How the Deep State Is Undermining the Presidency, late last month. Bossie and Lewandowski told the Washington Examiner in an interview last month they wanted to the book to show readers how there are establishment embeds within the nation’s capital that are actively working against the president and “the American people.”
The former Trump campaign aide, who is a college dropout and once lived in a firehouse, rose to notoriety during his time serving as the top official at Citizens United, where he spent his time digging up dirt on then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton. He also served as an investigator on the GOP-led House Government Reform and Oversight Committee in the 1990s. He was later fired over criticism that he was too overzealous.
The vice president’s chief of staff, Nick Ayers, 36, was the leading candidate for the chief of staff job heading into the weekend. Ayers turned down the role and is expected to return to the pro-Trump Super PAC America First Action, where he will help the president in his reelection effort in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump made the announcement to reporters Saturday that Kelly’s days in the White House are numbered as he departed for Philadelphia to attend the Army-Navy football game.
Calling Kelly “a great guy,” Trump said his replacement would be announced in the next few days.
Kelly, 68, was brought into the high-profile role in July 2017 after Trump fired then-chief of staff Reince Priebus. During his first few months on the job, Kelly reportedly told White House staff that he was not concerned with how long each staff member has been with the Trump camp or how they made it to the White House. He said that each member of the staff works with one common purpose: to serve at the pleasure of the president.
The former Marine Corps general worked to limit access to the Oval Office and made it his personal mission to end sensitive leaks that beset the president since the outset of his administration, and had devastated employee morale. Chief strategist Steve Bannon and national security adviser Sebastian Gorka departed just weeks after Kelly showed up, and Kelly quickly ended Anthony Scaramucci’s 10-day stint as communications director, Scaramucci, ironically, was brought on to fire many of Preibus’s original hires, a former White House aide told the Washington Examiner.
