WASHINGTON – The future of top White House staffers, Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus, is uncertain, as President Donald Trump is increasingly sending signals he is considering a major shakeup of his leading advisers, CNN reports.
Trump might be looking to replace Reince Priebus, Axios reported Friday morning after speaking to one of the president’s top aides.
Possible chief of staff replacements could include Trump’s economic advisor, Gary Cohn, who hails from Goldman Sachs; Wayne Berman of Blackstone Group; or House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, according to Axios.
Associated Press also confirms the speculation about Priebus, who has faced questions about his staying power since he started the job. That scrutiny intensified with the collapse of the House GOP health care overhaul, a major embarrassment for Trump.
Senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, arguably the two most influential voices in the West Wing, have clashed repeatedly in recent weeks over strategy to pass health care legislation, the fallout of the bogged-down immigration bans and, most recently, whether to intervene in the Syrian civil war.
And senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, at the forefront in the early weeks of the administration, has been less visible after a series of misstatements. She was one of only a few senior aides not present at this week’s summit with the Chinese president at Trump’s Florida estate.
Still, Chris Ruddy, a longtime Trump friend and the head of NewsMax, said Trump thrives on internal debate but does not like “when people are leaking or criticizing to the outside.”
On whether Trump will make changes, Ruddy said he wasn’t privy to internal discussion but noted, “Donald Trump has a history of ignoring what everyone says or thinks and keeping people he likes for a long period of time.”
Nearing its first 100 days, Trump’s presidency has been filled with personnel woes and limited policy wins. Installing his choice to the Supreme Court was a success, but his travel ban remains tied up in the courts. The House GOP health care bill failed spectacularly on its first attempt, and he is still dogged by questions about Russian connections.
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