August 1, 2017

Will Trump Give Kelly the Authority to Succeed?

The firing of Anthony Scaramucci is a good sign, as is the new White House chain of command.

“Somebody’s got to be in charge. Somebody’s got to be the go-to guy who can go to the Oval Office and deliver a very tough message to the president.” —Dick Cheney on the role of White House chief of staff

With last Friday’s appointment of retired General and Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to the White House chief of staff position, followed quickly by the firing of Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci Monday afternoon, the Trump administration is undergoing yet another radical transformation. It may look like chaos, but the moves are signs that things are being brought under control.

While Republican operatives have lauded the latest shake-up of staff at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, there is still a fundamental question about the way ahead for this beleaguered administration. Will Trump actually empower Kelly to take on the traditional role of a chief of staff or will he continue to facilitate an environment in the executive mansion that is more reminiscent of an episode of Game of Thrones? Kelly’s firing of Trump’s pal Scaramucci gives an indication, as does the fact that all personnel will now go through Kelly. That wasn’t the case with Reince Priebus, which handcuffed him from the beginning.

However, before examining Trump’s frenetic management style, it’s important to look at the three reasons why he chose John Kelly. They will not only provide some insight into Trump’s thought process but also some indicators about the future.

First, the president viewed Kelly’s performance at DHS to be top-notch, and more importantly, Kelly was incredibly loyal to Trump during the administration’s bungled executive order on immigration and travel restrictions in February. Trump has said on numerous occasions that he values the trait of loyalty above all others and he believes Kelly is a person he can trust.

Second, Kelly is a retired senior military officer and Trump loves generals, as evidenced by his selections of Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as National Security Advisor and retired four-star Gen. James Mattis to be secretary of defense. Trump believes a military officer can bring some badly needed order and discipline to the West Wing that was sorely missing under Priebus.

There is some precedence for his logic. Back in 1973, former Supreme Allied Commander Alexander Haig held the chief of staff position in the Nixon administration and was later credited by a former official for “holding the office together” during the final days of the Watergate crisis.

Third, Trump values Kelly’s former experiences in the nation’s capital. During his storied career, Kelly served at the Pentagon and worked closely with significant decision-makers from both parties. He served as a military assistant to both Leon Panetta and Robert Gates and was lauded by both men for his dedication to duty and ability to get things done. More importantly, Kelly was exposed to the contentious political atmosphere surrounding the DC Beltway and the challenges associated with implementing policy.

Which leads us back to the question of whether Trump is serious about enabling Kelly to thrive in his new position. While we believe Trump respects Kelly, we doubt Trump is going to change his leadership style. As a result the chaos surrounding this administration will continue to swirl.

As a septuagenarian former businessman, Trump is loath to change. He believes his business-executive, shoot-from-the-hip style, which has earned him billions of dollars and the presidency, is the template for success. But Trump’s predisposition toward listening to family members and longtime associates over professional staff makes it difficult for him to govern effectively.

In his insightful book, “The Gatekeepers: How The White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency,” Chris Whipple writes about the critical role that chiefs of staff have played since the middle of the 20th century. The major theme of the book is that a strong chief of staff is often the difference between a strong or weak presidency. Whipple writes that a chief can make or break an administration and that each president reveals himself by the choice he selects.

Regarding Kelly, Whipple now says Scaramucci’s dismissal is “a signal that everybody needs to come through [Kelly] — that there needs to be discipline.” He added, “To do it on Day One is a good first step, but it’s a minimal first step. Ultimately you’ve got a much bigger problem, which is Donald Trump.”

John Kelly certainly has the tools to be an outstanding chief of staff, but only time will tell if President Trump will allow him to do what is needed to be successful.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.