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Kelly, a retired general, is nearing a year in the job and could
be leaving soon, a source familiar with the situation said on
Thursday.
Asked if he was looking for a new chief of staff, Trump said:
"No. No. We're getting along very well... Look, at some point,
things happen. But I will tell you... we have a very good
relationship."
Trump, who spoke to reporters as he traveled aboard Air Force
One to New Jersey, said he did not how long Kelly would stick
around.
"That I don't know. I mean, I can't tell you that. But I can say
that we've had a very good relationship, and we've achieved a
lot together. So I love John a lot. I like him and I respect
him," Trump said.
Among possible choices to replace Kelly are Mick Mulvaney, who
is the White House budget director and a former member of the
U.S. House of Representatives, and Nick Ayers, who is Vice
President Mike Pence's chief of staff, the source said.
Trump has occasionally chafed at restrictions Kelly has placed
on who gets access to see the President and has wondered aloud
whether he needs someone with more political experience for the
job as congressional elections approach, two sources said.
But he frequently praises Kelly publicly and has expressed
admiration of him.
Kelly was picked as chief of staff last summer to bring order to
the West Wing in place of Reince Priebus, the former chairman of
the Republican National Committee who presided over the chaotic
early months of the Trump presidency.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Tom
Brown and Dan Grebler)
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