President Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly may soon be pushed out of the White House after clashing with first lady Melania Trump.
The top White House aide and the first lady have had disputes over staffing issues and travel requests, NBC News reported Tuesday.
“There have been instances where the East Wing staff were not treated as equals to the male-dominated decision makers in chief Kelly’s office,” one White House official told the news outlet. “Promotions were denied then finally granted after months of requests.”
Some of the arguments have escalated to the president. The first lady brought up the issues with her husband earlier this year after Kelly repeatedly denied her requests to promote some of her staffers.
Kelly had said there were not enough available positions for East Wing staffers to have senior titles, but West Wing officials were given promotions during the same time, White House officials told NBC.
The president told Kelly to respect his wife’s wishes. “I don’t need this shit,” President Trump told Kelly. The first lady’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, and White House social secretary, Rickie Niceta, were eventually promoted to deputy assistants to the president in June.
Melania Trump also disagreed with Kelly’s decision to fire her director of operations, Justin Caporale, and John McEntee, the president’s personal aide. She viewed their firings as “personal affronts.”
The pair have also clashed over travel arrangements for the first lady’s staff. Kelly repeatedly wouldn’t reserve space for Melania Trump’s two aides on Air Force One or on helicopters. They would also not have hotel rooms reserved for them and were not included in motorcade movements.
Grisham told the Washington Examiner that Kelly and the first lady have never had issues and have a “very positive relationship.”
“The East Wing is very focused on the First Lady’s initiatives and works independently. However, we do collaborate on a variety of projects and work alongside many departments within the west wing. We have a very positive working relationship,” Grisham said in a statement. “I would also add that Mrs. Trump has a very positive relationship with Chief Kelly and there have never been any issues between the two.”
