Does Trump even need a chief of staff?

The case for not replacing John Kelly

President Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images, jessicahyde/iStock)

After months of speculation — yawn — it has finally been confirmed that John Kelly is stepping down as President Trump's chief of staff at the end of the year.

We could spend from now until the Rose Bowl speculating about who is going to replace him. Nick Ayers, who serves in the same capacity for Mike Pence, was Trump's first choice. Ayers has refused. So has Mick Mulvaney, the head of the Office of Management and Budget. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, has also indicated that he has no interest in leaving his present position. There has been some talk about the possibility of bringing in Chris Christie onboard — or maybe the rando former CNN commentator and Trump toady who is currently the acting attorney general. We get to the D list pretty quickly here.

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.