President Trump is weighing nominating his chief of staff John Kelly to take over the Department of Veterans Affairs after Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson withdrew his name from consideration amid misconduct allegations, according to a new report.
“There have been discussions among the senior staff and the president directly about the possibility of Gen. Kelly going there [to the VA],” a source familiar with the situation told the Wall Street Journal.
Prior to serving as chief of staff, Kelly was the secretary of Homeland Security and, before that, a Marine general.
Other possible candidates to take over the agency include former Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida and hospital executive Anthony Tersigni.
The report comes after NBC News published a piece that cited former and current White House officials, some of whom said White House chief of staff John Kelly viewed himself as America’s savior and called Trump an “idiot.”
Kelly, who was hired by the White House last summer to replace former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, said he and Trump “both know this story is total BS.”
