JOHN KELLY/TRUMP POSITION CHANGES: “After moving into his West Wing corner office, John Kelly, President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, replaced the three large flatscreen televisions over the fireplace with a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.
The quiet imposed by the retired four-star Marine general presents a counterpoint to Trump and his loyalists, many of whom thrive on chaos. That stylistic collision is about to be tested as Kelly helps navigate the growing prospect of a government shutdown, even as his standing with the commander in chief is suddenly in question.
Kelly was hired to rein in a chaotic White House. And though aides were initially grateful for the sense of order he brought to the West Wing, they have recently become irked by his restrictive measures. In recent weeks, aides have increasingly protested the restrictions Kelly has placed on their access to the President. A frequent complaint is how Kelly refuses their requests to meet with Trump, preferring that all information that reaches the Oval Office is first seen by him.
Trump spent Wednesday [1-17-18] night fuming, furious with Kelly after he said during a television interview that the President’s views on immigration and the border wall have ‘evolved’ since he took office. Trump ‘hated’ his comments, a source familiar with his reaction told CNN, and spent the evening calling associates to complain that Kelly portrayed him as someone who needed to be managed — a perception Trump detests.
The White House maintains Kelly and Trump speak multiple times a day and enjoy positive working ties.”
-Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins, and Jeff Zeleny, “Kelly’s hardnose tactics vex some in West Wing,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Jan. 19, 2018 01:52pm