US President Donald Trump ousted his beleaguered chief of staff Reince Priebus on Saturday, replacing him with Homeland Security secretary and former general John Kelly after a vicious White House infighting spilled into the open.
Only hours after a humiliating defeat on health care had underlined his tenuous control over his party in Congress, Mr Trump announced a second shakeup of his inner circle in barely a week.
Since entering the White House six months ago, Mr Trump has parted company with his national security advisor, deputy national security advisor, FBI director, press secretary, communications director, acting attorney general, deputy chief of staff and now chief of staff, a turnover of top officials that is unparalleled in US political history.
Mr Priebus has been under fire for months, seeing one White House ally after another resign or leave, culminating in the departure of press secretary Sean Spicer a week ago. His exit appeared inevitable when Mr Trump did not intervene as his new communications director Anthony Scaramucci publicly described Mr Priebus as a “paranoid schizophrenic” in a foul-mouthed tirade.
In a CNN interview, Mr Priebus had said he submitted his resignation to Mr Trump privately on Thursday.
