After Wave Of Firings, Lawmakers Don’t Know Who To Call At The White House
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Aug 28, 2017
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has fired no fewer than 14 high-level staffers, including former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former chief strategist Steve Bannon. With so many vacancies in the West Wing, the Hill is reporting that members of Congress aren’t certain to whom they should reach out at the White House ahead of a particularly difficult stretch of the legislative calendar.
Priebus and Bannon reportedly handled “the bulk of outreach” to Congress during the administration’s battle to repeal and replace Obamacare. And while many on Capitol Hill like and respect Trump’s new chief of staff, former Marine General John Kelly, he doesn’t have the longstanding network of personal relationships on the Hill that Priebus had.
Some doubt Kelly’s conservative bona fides, and worry that he has aligned himself with “Democrats” like Gary Cohn, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
“Several GOP lawmakers told The Hill they don’t personally know Kelly, and there are questions on the right about whether he’ll be a champion for conservative causes as he tries to restore stability to a White House mired in turmoil.
‘There is great respect for John Kelly but no real belief that anyone else can effectively carry out the Trump agenda until Kelly replaces Bannon with a conservative leader,’ one House GOP lawmaker told The Hill.
Another House Republican added: ‘Kelly is definitely a huge force, but I don’t know him.’”
Of course, Priebus’s former leadership of the Republican National Committee and his close friendship with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan were major assets for the Trump administration when dealing with Congress.
“Before stepping into the chief of staff job, Priebus had spent years cultivating relationships on the Hill as chairman of the Republican National Committee. And while Priebus, a close friend and ally of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), seemed to embody the GOP establishment, he also made a concerted effort to connect with conservatives over the phone or through emails and text message.”
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