Trump Appoints New Chief of Staff Amid Stormy Days at White House

WHITE HOUSE — 

Tweeting that there is no chaos in the White House, President Donald Trump brought in no-nonsense retired Marine Corps general John Kelly as his chief of staff Monday to restore order to an administration shaken by six months of policy setbacks, personnel changes and media leaks.

Within hours, Kelly demanded the resignation of Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, who had unleashed a profanity-laced interview with a reporter last week, just days after he was hired.

A terse statement issued Monday afternoon by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "Anthony Scaramucci will be leaving his role as White House Communications Director. Mr. Scaramucci felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team. We wish him all the best."

David Cohen, a political scientist at the University of Akron specializing in the office of the chief of staff, said Kelly's first move bodes well for his mission of righting the White House ship.

"If Kelly has been granted the power to hire and fire, and to control access to the president, that is a good thing for the country," Cohen said. "Because he can restore some discipline and restore some sanity to the chaos that is gripping the White House."

On Capitol Hill, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine applauded the reshuffling.

"I was pleased to learn of [Scaramucci's] departure and this shows me that General Kelly is taking firm control and that he is not going to tolerate the kind of unacceptable behavior that Mr. Scaramucci has exhibited in just 10 days on the job. I salute General Kelly for making this one of his earliest moves. I believe General Kelly will impose discipline and order on a rather chaotic and conflict-ridden White House staff. This is a good move," she said.

WATCH: Trump Talks to Media About Kelly

Challenges

Among Kelly's biggest challenges will be stopping the press leaks that have bedeviled Trump during his first six months in office, and controlling access to the Oval Office.

During his six months as Oval Office gatekeeper, Reince Priebus was famously unable to keep a number of White House officials, including the president's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, from walking in unannounced, often with the intention of influencing administration policy. News reports Monday said Kushner and Ivanka Trump had given their blessing to Kelly's selection.

Akron University Professor Cohen says while Trump "must have a different version of reality" if he thinks there is no chaos in the White House, he also knows he needs a strong voice to control his impulsiveness. "I think what we're going to see is over time the chief of staff and the president butting heads quite a bit. I don't know if it'll be a relationship that will be successful in the long run."

Cohen said Kelly's ability to succeed ultimately depends on whether Trump gives him full authority. "I have grave doubts whether President Trump will be able to change his management style," Cohen said.

WATCH: Trump on His Hopes for Kelly

As Kelly was sworn in Monday morning, Trump said, "I have no doubt he will be an absolutely superb chief of staff." At a Cabinet meeting a short time later, Trump praised Kelly's work as Secretary of Homeland Security during the first six months of the administration. "What he has done has been nothing short of miraculous," the president said, noting that there has been a significant drop in illegal border crossings this year.

"Even the President of Mexico called me — they said their southern border, very few people are coming because they know they're not going to get through our border, which is the ultimate compliment," Trump said.

Firing

Scaramucci was little known to the American public before arriving on the Washington political scene in mid-July.

He quickly made national headlines with a vulgar, sexually suggestive rant to a correspondent for The New Yorker, which the magazine published last week. Scaramucci railed against Priebus and the president's chief strategist, Stephen Bannon.

Scaramucci's firing came just hours after Kelly assumed his new post.

Kelly will be the first current or former general to serve as White House chief of staff since Alexander M. Haig in the final stretch of President Richard M. Nixon's administration. Some advisers to Trump opposed the choice, arguing that Kelly did not have the political background for the job, according to media reports.

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