It’s the end of the line for White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. On Friday, President Donald Trump dumped Priebus as his right hand man, replacing him with Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly.
“I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff. He is a Great American and a Great Leader,” Trump tweeted early Friday evening. “John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration.”
It was not until the third tweet that Trump made it clear Priebus was officially out of his administration.
“I would like to thank Reince Priebus for his service and dedication to his country. We accomplished a lot together and I am proud of him,” Trump wrote.
“I resigned privately yesterday,” Priebus told The Wall Street Journal Friday, but the Washington Post reported Friday White House officials said Priebus was forced out of the job on Friday.
The announcement comes on the heels of a tumultuous week in the White House, which has been dogged by staff changeups and inner turmoil indicating instability within the Trump administration.
Just last week, former Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned after Trump named Anthony Scaramucci his new Communications Director. Spicer was reportedly incensed over Scaramucci's lack of qualifications for the position, calling it quits the same day Scaramucci began his new job.
Scaramucci made headlines Thursday after making profanity-laced comments to the New Yorker this week, furious over information leaks coming from staffers inside the White House.
Scaramucci and Priebus have also been rumored to be embroiled in hostility towards each other. The contention spilled into the public eye Thursday when Scaramucci accused Priebus of being responsible for leaking information to the media, hinting he would push for Priebus' resignation.
“They’ll all be fired by me,” Scaramucci said, the New Yorker reported. “I fired one guy the other day. I have three to four people I’ll fire tomorrow. I’ll get to the person who leaked that to you. Reince Priebus — if you want to leak something — he’ll be asked to resign very shortly.”
Scaramucci assailed Priebus as a “paranoid schizophrenic” in the phone call with the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza.
He later apologized for using “colorful language” when speaking with the publication.
It’s unclear whether Scaramucci had any influence on Trump’s decision to cut the cord with Priebus, but reports said the three men boarded Air Force One Friday on a trip to Long Island Friday afternoon.
It was uncertain whether Priebus was on the flight for the return trip.
Kelly, like Trump and Priebus, has a Florida connection. In 2013, Kelly was put in charge of the U.S. Southern Command based in Miami. The Southern Command is responsible for U.S. military activities in Central and South America.
Priebus is a former graduate of the University of Miami Law School, where he graduated in 1998. Reince most recently served as the chair of the Republican National Committee until January of this year when Trump tapped him to become his Chief of Staff.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
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