GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WHITE HOUSE STAFF: “Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, is no longer under consideration to be President Donald Trump’s chief of staff…Meadows, a staunch Trump ally, had been a top contender for the position after Nick Ayers — the president’s first choice to replace John Kelly, who Trump said last weekend would be leaving at the end of the year — turned it down. Meadows had signaled his interest in recent days, despite early reports that he was telling confidants he didn’t want the job. Former senior administration officials and conservatives outside the administration told POLITICO that as of Tuesday [12-11-18] night, the conversations with Meadows were going well and that there seemed to be a 50 percent chance he would get the job. But ultimately, the White House said, the president thought it best for him to remain in Congress, where he can continue to be a strong outside defender of the administration.”
–Andrew Restuccia and Daniel Lippman, “Meadows out of the running to be Trump’s chief of staff,” Politico, December 12, 2018 8:16 pm