JOHN KELLY: “Chief of staff John Kelly’s no-nonsense deputy, Kirstjen Nielsen, has only been working in the White House for five weeks.
But in her short tenure, the new sheriff’s no. 2 has already helped set a new tone in the West Wing that was described by more than ten senior administration officials and outside advisers to the president as one that can be dismissive and lacking in collegiality. These people worry that Nielsen — who now occupies former chief strategist Steve Bannon’s old office — is at risk of squandering the morale boost that accompanied the arrival of the four-star general and the hope for a fresh start.
Nielsen, who served as Kelly’s chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security before moving with him to the West Wing, routinely cancels meetings with senior officials if someone shows up late, multiple aides said. Phone calls often go unreturned.
And she controls time with Kelly the same way Kelly is seeking to control time with President Donald Trump — staffers who linger too long in the chief of staff’s office are interrupted and hurried along.”
-Annie Karni, “Kelly’s deputy annoys Trump aides with rigid style,” Politico, Sept. 8, 2017 12:24pm