President Donald Trump talks with new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly after he was privately sworn in during a ceremony in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump, Monday, July 31, 2017, in... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — Raised voices could be heard through the thick door to the Oval Office as John Kelly — then secretary of Homeland Security — offered some tough talk to President Donald Trump. 
 
 Kelly, a whip-cracking retired general who was sworn in as White House chief of staff on Monday, had demanded to speak to the president alone after Trump complained loudly that the U.S. was admitting travelers from countries he viewed as high risk. 
 
 Kelly first tried to explain to Trump that the admissions were standard — some people had legitimate reasons to visit the country — but the president insisted that it was making him look bad, according to an administration official familiar with the exchange about a month ago. 
 
 Kelly then demanded that other advisers leave the room so he could speak to the president frankly. Trump refused at first, but agreed when Kelly insisted. 
 
 It was an early indication that Kelly, a decorated retired Marine general who served three tours in Iraq, is not afraid to stand up to his commander-in-chief. 
 
 Tapped to bring order to a chaotic West Wing, Kelly began to make his mark immediately on Monday, ousting newly appointed communications director Anthony Scaramucci and revising a dysfunctional command structure that has bred warring factions. From now on, said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, all senior staffers — including the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and chief strategist Steve Bannon — will report to Kelly instead of the president. 
 
 Kelly "will bring new structure, discipline and strength" to the White House, Sanders said. 
 
 "It definitely has the fingerprints of a new sheriff in town," said Blain Rethmeier, who guided Kelly through the Senate confirmation process for the Homeland Security post. Rethmeier said that what stood out about Kelly during the time they worked together was the way Kelly commanded respect from everyone he encountered — and the way he respected others. 
 
 Kelly drew praise from lawmakers of both parties Tuesday. 
 
 Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., expressed confidence that Kelly can help restore order, saying on NBC's "Today" show that "the Marines have landed at the White House. They have a beachhead." 
 
 And Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois told CNN that Kelly "is in a position where he can stabilize this White House, that's good for this country. The president has to be part of that." 
 
 Jason Miller, a senior communications adviser during the Trump presidential campaign, predicted on CNN that Kelly's next move will be to put people in place that will help the president. He suggested Kelly should convince ousted press secretary Sean Spicer to stay on, at least through the tax overhaul effort. 
 
 Kelly fostered a reputation as an outspoken commander who didn't shy away from unpopular opinions during his military career. Rethmeier said that Kelly also respects authority deeply — "and that's something that Trump sort of smells out, if you respect him or not." 
 
 "If he disagrees with you, he'll disagree respectfully," Rethmeier said. 
 
 It was a point Kelly made clear during his confirmation hearing in January. 
 
 "I have never had a problem speaking truth to power, and I firmly believe that those in power deserve full candor and my honest assessment and recommendations. I also value people that work for me speaking truth to power," he said. 
 
 In April, Kelly bluntly challenged members of Congress critical of the Trump administration's aggressive approach to immigration enforcement to either change the laws or "shut up." 
 
 But after being confirmed as part of Trump's Cabinet, Kelly also tried to moderate some of the president's hard-line positions, even as he publicly defended them. 
 
 Hours after Trump said deportations of people in the U.S. illegally were being carried out as a "military operation," Kelly said the U.S. would not enlist the military to enforce immigration laws. 
 
 Kelly and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, another retired general, were also said to have been deeply frustrated with the rollout of Trump's refugee and immigration ban, and made clear to associates that they were not involved in drafting it or aware of its details around the time that Trump signed the original order. Both moved swiftly to address gaps in the measure, with Mattis asking that Iraqis who helped U.S. troops be exempt and Kelly clarifying that green-card holders would not be affected. 
 
 Nonetheless, Kelly launched a particularly robust defense of the order to lawmakers and reporters, which was welcomed by the White House. 
 
 Mattis and Kelly also agreed in the earliest weeks of Trump's presidency that one of them should remain in the United States at all times to keep tabs on the orders rapidly emerging from the White House, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The official insisted on anonymity in order to discuss the administration's internal dynamics. 
 
 Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn, said Monday that he discussed Kelly's appointment with Trump and hopes Kelly "will do everything possible to bring the appropriate discipline and focus that needs to be at the White House there." 
 
 "I hope that Gen. Kelly will absolutely, forcefully clean the place up," Corker said. "And anybody who's been a violator, who's been a part of public backbiting, part of undermining, who's been part of feathering their own nest at other people's expense, I hope they'll all be gone." 
 
 David B. Cohen, a University of Akron political science professor writing a book on chiefs of staff, applauded Kelly for doing "things that should have been done on Day One of Reince Priebus's tenure." He said Scaramucci's removal sent a clear message "that going off-script and being undisciplined" would no longer be tolerated at the White House. 
 
 But Cohen wondered how long Trump would go before undermining Kelly. 
 
 "President Trump is his own worst enemy," he said. "He instinctively likes to be his own chief of staff and he's a pretty awful one. Will he be able to resist messing with the system once John Kelly cleans everything up? Will he listen to his chief of staff when Kelly has to tell Trump, 'No?'" he asked. 
 
 "I'm not sure President Trump is wired to be able to listen to that type of criticism," he said. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow Salama and Colvin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/vmsalama and https://twitter.com/colvinj 
 
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 Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report. ||||| “Listen, I respect them enormously,” John Kelly once told his transition “Sherpa,” Blain Rethmeier about his feelings towards the press, Rethmeier recalled in an interview. | Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo Kelly's military approach to the media The new chief of staff respects the press but will defer to his superior, Donald Trump. 
 
 When it comes to the media, new White House chief of staff John Kelly is a military man at heart, according to those who know him and have dealt with him in the past. 
 
 Operating out of the Pentagon, the former Marine Corps general and head of the U.S. Southern Command learned to respect members of the press but felt burned when they didn’t cover the news of what was under his command — including Guantanamo Bay — in what he considered a fair way. 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 His new challenge, some of those people say, is that the political writers in the White House are a different breed than their Pentagon counterparts, who tend to have deep groundings in defense policy. And Kelly’s value system may be strained in his new job — both by the press corps and the boss he will serve. 
 
 To some extent, his brief tenure as Homeland Security secretary was a period of adjustment to dealing with a more politically oriented media, as he was on the front line defending some of President Donald Trump’s more controversial moves like the travel ban and crackdown on illegal immigration. 
 
 "In his time at DHS, he’s been a bit frustrated with the press coverage in some aspects but he doesn’t think there should be less of it,” explained David Lapan, his DHS spokesperson who has worked with Kelly for more than 10 years. “His concern was making sure it was accurate.” 
 
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 Kelly’s preference for straight shooting was reflected in his first major decision as chief of staff, pushing out Trump’s newly minted communications director, Anthony Scaramucci. The Mooch, as he was nicknamed, was widely viewed as the kind of fast-talking, political-oriented communicator that Kelly distrusts. In his experience with the Marines, Kelly came from a culture in which if "we just tell the truth, that’s enough,” Lapan said. 
 
 To the extent that he’s able, Kelly will try to develop more of a transactional, two-way approach to media relations, according to those who’ve dealt with him over the years. He’ll respect them, if they respect him. 
 
 “Listen, I respect them enormously,” Kelly once told his transition “Sherpa,” Blain Rethmeier, Rethmeier recalled in an interview. 
 
 "I would characterize [Kelly’s feelings] as a deep respect for the media and understanding there is an important job for them to do, and in order for them to do it, it takes that trust,” Rethmeier said. 
 
 While all of his former colleagues are sure about Kelly’s personal respect for the press, they aren't as sure about how he would handle a president who routinely calls outlets “fake news,” has trafficked in conspiracy theories, tweets out videos of himself literally beating up the logo of a news organization, and openly mused about opening up libel laws. 
 
 Despite his appreciation of the role of the media, Kelly is, at heart, a military man who respects the chain of command, and thus Trump’s role as commander in chief, those who know him say. 
 
 Should Kelly be presented with a situation in which Trump wishes to ban an outlet from the White House, Kelly would likely carry out the president’s directive, Lapan said. 
 
 "I think he would push back against banning a reporter from the briefing room, but he also recognizes that ultimately the president is the decision-maker and there is a time to have internal discussions and disagreements,” Lapan said. “But at the end of the day … Gen. Kelly is the one to carry out those orders and directions, but he certainly will have a say.” 
 
 Before taking his DHS post, Kelly worked with two secretaries of defense, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta, who were known for being open with the press. It was from them, both reporters and those who worked alongside him say, that Kelly developed his communication strategies. 
 
 "Gates and Panetta were heavily influential in how he thinks about the media,” said Washington Post reporter Greg Jaffe, who has covered Kelly extensively. “It made him understand the importance of doing [media] and how to be strategic about it.” 
 
 Gates and Panetta valued their relationships with individual reporters and saw them as crucial to advancing their agendas, a lesson Kelly has taken to heart, said Geoff Morrell, former Pentagon press secretary in both the Bush and Obama administrations. 
 
 “He’s had excellent role models in media engagement and seen firsthand the benefits of having a good working relationship with reporters. He knows that if you treat them as professionals and with respect that they will give you and your agenda a fairer shake,” Morrell said. 
 
 At the Pentagon, Kelly was known to have long off-the-record chats with reporters while traveling with the secretaries, and built personal relationships with reporters including ABC’s Martha Raddatz, The Wall Street Journal’s Julian Barnes and The New York Times’ Thom Shanker, to the point where they would call Kelly directly even after he became DHS secretary, said Lapan. 
 
 Unlike the Pentagon, White House or State Department, DHS does not have a dedicated press corps. The agency is covered by a hodgepodge of reporters whose beats involve defense, immigration and transportation. But Kelly did try to improve relations, directing his staff to engage more with the press and instituting a new weekly news briefing, which reporters said they found helpful. 
 
 But Kelly ultimately sees the relationship with the media as a two-way street. He tries to be transparent and forthcoming those who have worked with him said, but he gets angry if he feels burned, colleagues say. 
 
 One place where he felt the coverage to be unfair was the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, which he oversaw as head of the U.S. Southern Command, his former colleagues say. Kelly felt he gave journalists access to the facility and wanted to show that the facility was being run in accordance with the law. But coverage trended toward the negative. 
 
 “Where the press got sideways with him is he would trust them, give them access, and then be burned by it,” Rethmeier said. 
 
 One thing Kelly has little patience for is leaks — but mainly of the classified nature. 
 
 “I believe when you leak the kind of information that seems to be routinely leaked — high, high level of classification … I think it’s darn close to treason,” Kelly told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in May. 
 
 But Lapan put it this way: "When he’s talking about treason, he’s talking about those types of leaks, not the personal score settling, the rumors, those types of leaks. I’d also say as someone who has operated in and around Washington for a long time, he understands that’s just the nature and there will always be leaks. You’re not going to stop leaks but you should focus your attention on the ones that are serious and violate the law." ||||| AFP/Getty Images 
 
 In the latest Friday afternoon Twitter dump, President Trump announced he is replacing White House chief of staff and Anthony Scaramucci playground abuse recipient Reince Priebus with retired general and current Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. It hasn’t yet been reported who will be nominated for Kelly’s job. 
 
 There was some indication this was coming, though it got a bit lost in the tumult of the last few days. The New York Times reported on Thursday: 
 
 Mr. Trump has openly told people that he has lost faith in Mr. Priebus. He has said he wants “a general” as chief of staff, and has focused on John F. Kelly, the retired four-star Marine now serving as homeland security secretary. Many of his advisers, however, consider that a bad idea. 
 
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 Trump has a thing for generals. He routinely refers to them as “my generals” and brags about them looking like they’re from “central casting.” Kelly was the third general the president named to a senior position after Secretary of Defense James Mattis—who had served so recently that he required a special waiver from Congress in order to take the job—and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who Trump reportedly asked to wear his uniform to work despite the fact Flynn had retired from the service. (The retired Kelly also does not wear his uniform to the workplace.) When Flynn was forced to resign over contacts with Russia, Trump replaced him with another general, H.R. McMaster, who has the advantage of still being in the military, meaning he can wear his uniform around the office. 
 
 Military affairs is the one realm in which Trump is occasionally willing to admit some level of ignorance. He has openly said the generals should go about their business without consulting him, since they know more than he does. (Perhaps this is atonement for his claim on the campaign trail to “know more about ISIS than the generals do.”) 
 
 Given the president’s love of men in uniform, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see another general take over the Homeland Security post that Kelly has now vacated, or even take the top spot at the State Department considering how things are looking with Rex Tillerson. 
 
 Despite Trump’s professions of love and admiration for his generals and his claim that he’s giving the military “total authorization,” the president doesn’t always seem to care about what they have to say. He ignored Mattis’ plan for fighting ISIS for months. He’s widely known to be frustrated with McMaster, particularly the national security adviser’s desire to commit more troops to Afghanistan. And despite his claim that he’d decided to ban transgender people from the military after consultation with “my generals,” the Pentagon had no idea the announcement was coming. Mattis was apparently only informed the day before and was on vacation. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford says he’s not going to implement the ban until he receives an official order. ||||| President Trump tweeted July 28 that his homeland security secretary, retired Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly, is replacing Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff. (Victoria Walker,Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) 
 
 Twelve days after Donald Trump’s election victory, the president-elect asked John Kelly to meet with him at the stately Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., to discuss the roles of secretaries of State and Homeland Security. 
 
 It was a small gathering. Present was Reince Priebus, the Republican Party chair who later became White House chief of staff, a post that he resigned this week. Also attending was Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist. Kelly, like other retired generals, impressed the president-elect, enough so that soon he’ll leave his post atop the Department of Homeland Security to replace Priebus in the West Wing. 
 
 That meeting last November launched what has become one of the president’s most important relationships within his beleaguered administration. He likes Kelly. He trusts Kelly. But what remains to be seen is whether Trump will listen to him as Kelly seeks to bring order to a White House beset by chaos. 
 
 [In John Kelly, Trump gets a plain-spoken disciplinarian as his chief of staff] 
 
 After it was announced that Priebus would be leaving, a friend of the Homeland Security secretary told The Washington Post that Kelly, a tough talking Bostonian who spent 45 years in the Marines, is ideally suited to confront the challenges he’ll face. 
 
 “He knows how to do this: with common sense and good leadership,” said Kelly’s longtime friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer frank opinions. “He won’t suffer idiots and fools.” 
 
 But Kelly did not gel with the previous administration, and his military career ended on a sour note in January 2016 after he repeatedly clashed with the Obama White House. 
 
 Officials there had grown tired of the four-star general speaking off message — about the president’s plan to shut down the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, about the perceived vulnerability of America’s borders, about the threat posed to American interests by any number of terrorist organizations. Their relationship had become so strained that in the weeks before he retired, multiple administration officials went to the media and accused Kelly and other military leaders of endeavoring to undermine the Guantánamo closure plan. 
 
 [Retired Marine generals recommended each other to Trump as Pentagon chief] 
 
 At Bedminster, Trump and Kelly discussed the general’s diplomatic experience and the security concerns about which both men remain deeply passionate. 
 
 His final job in the military, as head of U.S. Southern Command in Miami, gave Kelly deep insight into the criminal networks ravaging South America, Central America and the Caribbean, and their illicit trafficking pipeline — for drugs, guns and people — running north through Mexico and into the United States. He has long argued that transnational organized crime is among the greatest threats to U.S. national security. 
 
 The Obama White House didn’t always appreciate it. But Trump couldn’t agree more. 
 
 As Kelly moves to the West Wing, he’ll likely move quickly to confront the “reality television show that runs on a raucous mix of drama, machismo and suspicion,” as The Post’s White House team characterized it Thursday. A big piece of that will be addressing leaks and the president’s portrayal in the media. 
 
 “There’s a way to handle it,” Kelly’s friend said. “Simply go dark and do not engage.” 
 
 Read more: 
 
 Trump names Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly as White House chief of staff, ousting Reince Priebus 
 
 Trump tells police not to worry about injuring suspects during arrests 
 
 ‘Goodbye my brother’: A Marine’s loving sendoff for the cancer-stricken dog who saved him ||||| President Trump tweeted July 28 that his homeland security secretary, retired Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly, is replacing Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff. (Victoria Walker,Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) 
 
 President Trump ousted White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and replaced him with Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly on Friday, a major shake-up designed to bring order and military precision to a West Wing beset for six straight months by chaos, infighting and few tangible accomplishments. 
 
 With his legislative agenda largely stalled, Trump became convinced that Priebus was a “weak” leader after being lobbied intensely by rival advisers to remove the establishment Republican fixture who has long had friction with some of Trump's inner-circle loyalists, according to White House officials. 
 
 Kelly's hiring is expected to usher in potentially sweeping structural changes to the turbulent operation and perhaps the departures of some remaining Priebus allies. Kelly intends to bring some semblance of traditional discipline to the West Wing, where warring advisers have been able to circumvent the chief of staff and report directly to the president and sidestep the policy process, according to people with knowledge of his plans. 
 
 Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general, earned Trump's approval for his work combating illegal immigration and his leadership qualities, both in the battlefield and at the Department of Homeland Security. 
 
 “He is a Great American and a Great Leader,” Trump tweeted. “John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration.” 
 
 Trump has been talking privately about replacing Priebus with Kelly for several weeks now, though he is an unconventional pick to run the White House considering he has no political or legislative experience. 
 
 Trump first tried to offer the chief of staff job to Kelly in mid-May, according to two people familiar with their discussions. Kelly told the president that he was flattered, but declined, saying he still had more to accomplish beefing up national security and improving immigration enforcement. 
 
 Trump did not give up, however. 
 
 "The president has tried to convince the general multiple times, and the general has politely declined several times," said one administration official who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. "But given what's going on in Washington, I think the president really needs the general to help him restore order in this White House and advance his vision." 
 
 Trump thanked Priebus on Twitter "for his service and dedication to his country. We accomplished a lot together and I am proud of him!” 
 
 The change comes after deep personal animus between Priebus and Anthony Scaramucci, newly appointed as White House communications director, burst into public view Thursday when Scaramucci accused the chief of staff of leaking damaging information about him to the news media and savaged Priebus in a profanity-laced interview with The New Yorker. 
 
 Priebus said in a statement, “It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve this president and our country. I want to thank the president for giving me this very special opportunity. I will continue to serve as a strong supporter of the president's agenda and policies. I can't think of a better person than General John Kelly to succeed me and I wish him God's blessings and great success.” 
 
 Sitting in the White House for his first interview since his resignation, Priebus told CNN that he and the president had spoken about his departure for days before he tendered his resignation on Thursday. 
 
 “This is not a situation where there's a bunch of ill will,” Priebus said. “I think the president wanted to go in a different direction -- I support him in that.” 
 
 He added, “The president has a right to hit the reset button.” 
 
 Allies to Priebus said he told them he had resigned because the internal chaos had become “unsustainable,” and that he felt demeaned by the president's treatment of him. One friend said Priebus told him he was frustrated that he could not assert control over basic White House functions, such as policy development, communications and even formal announcements -- which sometimes were made impulsively by the president, such as this week's ban on transgender people serving in the military. 
 
 Defenders of Priebus said he was given an impossible job of managing a president who chafed at attempts to control his more rash impulses. 
 
 But White House officials said privately that the decision for Priebus to depart was made by Trump. It was announced after Priebus presided over the Friday morning senior staff meeting and accompanied Trump to a law enforcement event in New York. 
 
 Priebus' final departure was a humiliating coda for what had been a largely demeaning tenure during which he endured regular belittling from rival advisers -- and even, at times, the president himself. His exit was described by one Republican strategist as "the red wedding," a reference to a mass-murder blood bath episode of HBO's "Game of Thrones." 
 
 When Air Force One touched down Friday afternoon at Andrew's Air Force base, Priebus, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and social media director Dan Scavino all loaded into a Suburban. But moments later, Miller and Scavino hopped out of the vehicle, and as word trickled out about the chief of staff's ouster, reporters inched close to snap photos of Priebus, who sat alone on the rain-soaked tarmac. Priebus' vehicle then pulled out of the presidential motorcade, which proceeded along to the White House without him. 
 
 “I think any observer -- including one that did not speak English and knew nothing about politics and came from another planet and solar system -- could, after observing the situation in the White House, realize the White House is failing,” said one informal White House adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share a candid assessment. “And when the White House is failing, you can't replace the president.” 
 
 
 
 Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) 
 
 Trump has long been drawn to military leaders -- “my generals,” he calls them -- and by appointing Kelly, the president hopes to bring military discipline to his often-unruly West Wing. 
 
 Kelly is expected to be sworn into the job on Monday morning and convene a Cabinet meeting. He is being succeeded at the Department of Homeland Security by his current deputy, Elaine Duke, who will become acting secretary. 
 
 Currently, Scaramucci reports directly to the president in his role as communications director, as do many other top aides. But two people familiar with Kelly's plans said they expect him to try to require most aides — even those who currently enjoy walk-in privileges to the Oval Office — to report to him, rather than circumventing the chief of staff. 
 
 Kelly, who is widely admired by Trump family members and loyalists, has formed a bond with the president over recent months that was fortified when he aggressively defended the travel ban policy. Their relationship has only grown stronger since, with Trump telling aides that he sees Kelly as someone who dutifully follows through on his agenda -- including a border security crackdown and sharp reduction in illegal immigration -- and does not cause him problems. 
 
 Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the incoming White House press secretary, said of Kelly in a statement, “The entire administration loves him and no one is comparable.” 
 
 Because Kelly has little political and legislative experience, many officials in the West Wing expect that policy issues will largely fall under Vice President Pence’s portfolio, said two people familiar with the likely changes. Pence — who spent Thursday evening in the Capitol unsuccessfully trying to convince Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) to vote for the Republican health care plan — is expected to serve as a de facto chief legislative adviser to the president, with Nick Ayers, his newly sworn-in chief of staff, and Marc Short, a longtime Pence adviser who is now the White House director of legislative affairs, serving as his deputies on issues of both legislation and politics. 
 
 Priebus, who as chairman of the Republican National Committee nurtured a close relationship with Trump during last year's campaign, was named White House chief of staff to bring Washington experience to the administration of a political novice. Part of Priebus' pitch was that he could use his long-standing relationships with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill — including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), a personal friend — to help pass Trump's ambitious agenda. 
 
 “On paper, he was a perfect choice, but he didn't have the managerial skills,” said Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media and a Trump friend. But, he continued, "That Ryan connection became a burden for him as health care failed. The president felt he had to carry this defective football that had no buy in, thanks to Reince and Ryan.” 
 
 Ryan issued a statement praising Priebus, saying he “left it all out on the field, for our party and our country.” 
 
 “He has achieved so much, and he has done it all with class,” Ryan said. “I could not be more proud to call Reince a dear friend.” 
 
 Members of President Trump's Cabinet met on June 12, 2017 at the White House. (The Washington Post) 
 
 [White House tensions flare in the open as Scaramucci rips Priebus in vulgar tirade] 
 
 After Scaramucci was named communications director last week against Priebus' vehement objections, White House officials widely believed that Priebus' position had become more imperiled. His closest ally, press secretary Sean Spicer, resigned in protest last week over Scaramucci's hiring and at a time urged Priebus to consider his own future, officials said, noting that the situation had darkened. 
 
 Rumors of Priebus' firing have circulated for months now. Trump himself fed the rumor mill, asking friends and other advisers to evaluate Priebus' performance and tossing around names of possible replacements. Some possibilities floated by Trump allies included Gary Cohn, the National Economic Council director; Wayne Berman, a longtime Republican fixture in Washington; David Urban, a former Senate chief of staff who ran Trump's Pennsylvania campaign; and Dina Powell, the deputy national security adviser who had a powerful advocate in Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and White House adviser. 
 
 For Trump, the imperative to remove Priebus heightened over the past 10 days or so, according to White House officials. Trump's own family had soured on Priebus at least several weeks prior. Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, had been telling associates he believed Priebus was doing a poor job and running the White House ineffectively — a view that both Ivanka Trump and first lady Melania Trump also privately conveyed to the president. 
 
 “It reached a fever pitch of the president complaining about Reince to all of us,” said one senior White House official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “If we heard it once, we heard it 20 times in the last week — this erosion of confidence. The word was 'weak' — 'weak,' 'weak,' 'weak.' 'Can’t get it done.'” 
 
 Trump had long questioned the depth of Priebus' loyalty, often remarking about how last October Priebus encouraged Trump to drop out of the presidential race after The Washington Post published a video of Trump bragging about sexual harassment in a 2005 “Access Hollywood” interview. The senior official described Priebus' counsel that day as “a stain he was never going to remove. The scarlet 'A.H.'” 
 
 Trump's demeaning of Priebus came through in other ways, too. At one point, during a meeting in the Oval Office, a fly began buzzing overhead, distracting the president. As the fly continued to circle, Trump summoned his chief of staff and tasked him with killing the insect, according to someone familiar with the incident. (The West Wing has a regular fly problem.) 
 
 Inside the White House, Priebus' rivals tried to sow doubts about Priebus' loyalty. Any negative mention of Priebus in a news story — even a single sentence or mere clause — would often elicit frantic phone calls from more junior staffers, the sort of vigorous defense in the media the president came to believe was not afforded to him. The impression within the White House — that Priebus was most concerned with defending his own image — further undercut his standing with Trump and the president’s family. 
 
 Both Kushner and Ivanka Trump were supportive of Priebus’s departure Friday, but also expressed admiration for Kelly, according to an administration official. 
 
 Speculation about Priebus' departure began within only a few weeks of his taking office. After dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in February, Ruddy publicly criticized Priebus and said Trump was considering making a change. "It's pretty clear the guy is in way over his head," Ruddy told The Post on Feb. 12. 
 
 On Friday, after Priebus exited, Ruddy reminded The Post that he was the first Trump friend to raise doubts about Priebus. 
 
 Carol D. Leonnig, Tom Hamburger and Anne Gearan contributed to this story. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
 
 / Updated By Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube, Kristen Welker and Stephanie Ruhle 
 
 WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff John Kelly has eroded morale in the West Wing in recent months with comments to aides that include insulting the president's intelligence and casting himself as the savior of the country, according to eight current and former White House officials. 
 
 The officials said Kelly portrays himself to Trump administration aides as the lone bulwark against catastrophe, curbing the erratic urges of a president who has a questionable grasp on policy issues and the functions of government. He has referred to Trump as "an idiot" multiple times to underscore his point, according to four officials who say they've witnessed the comments. 
 
 Kelly called the allegations "total BS." 
 
 "I spend more time with the president than anyone else and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship," said Kelly in a statement. "He always knows where I stand and he and I both know this story is total BS. I am committed to the president, his agenda, and our country. This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration’s many successes." 
 
 Three White House spokespeople said they don't believe it's accurate that Kelly called the president an "idiot," adding that none of them has ever heard him do that or otherwise use that word. 
 
 Officials said Kelly's public image as a retired four-star general instilling discipline on a chaotic White House and an impulsive president belies what they describe as the undisciplined and indiscreet approach he's employed as chief of staff. The private manner aides describe may shed new light on why Kelly now finds himself — just nine months into the job — grappling with diminished influence and a drumbeat of questions about how long he'll remain at the White House. 
 
 "He says stuff you can't believe," said one senior White House official. "He'll say it and you think, 'That is not what you should be saying.'" 
 
 President Donald Trump talks with then Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly during commencement exercises at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on May 17, 2017. Susan Walsh / AP file 
 
 Trump, who aides said has soured on his second chief of staff, is aware of some though not all of Kelly's comments, according to the current and former officials. 
 
 The White House spokespeople said they haven't heard Kelly talk about himself as the one saving the country, and that if anything he may have spoken in jest along those lines. 
 
 Presidential historian Michael Beschloss said Kelly's comments about Trump, when compared to previous White House chiefs of staff, "suggest a lack of respect for the sitting president of a kind that we haven't seen before." Beschloss said the closest similarity would be President Ronald Reagan's chief of staff during his second term, Don Regan, who "somewhat looked down on" his boss and eventually lost the support of the staff and the president. Regan was replaced after two years by Howard Baker. 
 
 The last time it became public that one of Trump's top advisers insulted his intelligence behind his back, it didn't go over well with the president. White House aides have said Trump never got over former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling him a "moron" in front of colleagues, which was first reported by NBC News. Trump later challenged Tillerson to an IQ test and fired him several months after the remark became public. 
 
 Current and former White House officials said Kelly has at times made remarks that have rattled female staffers. Kelly has told aides multiple times that women are more emotional than men, including at least once in front of the president, four current and former officials said. 
 
 And during a firestorm in February over accusations of domestic abuse against then-White House staff secretary Rob Porter, Kelly wondered aloud how much more Porter would have to endure before his honor could be restored, according to three officials who were present for the comments. He also questioned why Porter's ex-wives wouldn't just move on based on the information he said he had about his marriages, the officials said. 
 
 Some current and former White House officials said they expect Kelly to leave by July, his one-year mark. But others say it's anyone's guess. What's clear is both Trump and Kelly seem to have tired of each other. 
 
 "Kelly appears to be less engaged, which may be to the president's detriment," a second senior White House official said. 
 
 Kelly has maintained at least two close allies in the West Wing — Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, and White House counsel Don McGahn, current and former officials said. 
 
 White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Staff Secretary Rob Porter follow President Donald Trump as he boards Marine One at the White House on Nov. 29, 2017. Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images file 
 
 The White House spokespeople conceded that Trump gets frustrated at times with Kelly, particularly when he feels Kelly is not giving him all the information he needs and wants. They said Kelly and Trump have an open, candid relationship. 
 
 The spokespeople disputed that staff has lost confidence in Kelly, saying he's still chief of staff so when he issues an order aides comply and that "for the most part the staff still respects and genuinely likes Kelly." 
 
 The White House spokespeople said they haven't seen Kelly have a negative effect on the morale of women staffers. If anything, they said during meetings Kelly is the "bigger gentleman" who steps in when aides use foul language to note "a lady is present" and similarly says he shouldn't use foul language in front of a lady if he's used an expletive. The spokespeople, who would not speak for the record, said it's possible Kelly may have said women are more emotional than men, with one of them agreeing that "generally speaking, women are more emotional than men." 
 
 "We've got to save him from himself" 
 
 Kelly entered the White House with a mandate to instill order in a West Wing where aides regularly had unfettered access to the president. He adopted some key changes, such as shrinking the number of people in meetings and limiting access to the Oval Office. 
 
 He has also pushed back against the president on some foreign policy and military issues, current and former White House officials said. 
 
 In one heated exchange between the two men before February's Winter Olympics in South Korea, Kelly strongly — and successfully — dissuaded Trump from ordering the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula, according to two officials. 
 
 For Kelly, the exchange underscored the reasoning behind one of his common refrains, which multiple officials described as some version of "I'm the one saving the country." 
 
 "The strong implication being 'if I weren't here we would've entered WWIII or the president would have been impeached,'" one former senior White House official said. 
 
 Kelly has made similar comments to lawmakers, at times making fun of what he sees as Trump's lack of knowledge about policy and government, current and former officials said. 
 
 He's been particularly cutting when it comes to immigration issues, which he considers one of his policy strong suits, having served as Homeland Security secretary and head of the combatant command for U.S. military operations in Central America and South America, the officials said. 
 
 Kelly held a series of meetings in his office with White House officials during negotiations with lawmakers on funding for the president's border wall and a resolution on a program — known as DACA — that allows some people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children to remain in the country, according to four officials who either attended or were briefed on the meetings. 
 
 He often used the settings to express concern that Trump would agree to a deal that's not hardline enough on immigration and criticized the president's knowledge of the issues to underscore his point, the officials said. 
 
 "He doesn't even understand what DACA is. He's an idiot," Kelly said in one meeting, according to two officials who were present. "We've got to save him from himself." 
 
 After the talks on a bipartisan deal fell apart, a collapse Kelly helped orchestrate with some conservative Republicans, he told aides in his office: "If it weren't for me the president was going to agree to some hasty deal," according to two officials who were present at the time. 
 
 "He doesn't even understand what DACA is. He's an idiot." 
 
 Three White House press spokespeople said Kelly did express concern in meetings that Trump would agree to a deal that was too soft on immigration, and after bipartisan talks collapsed told staff that if it weren't for him the president would have cut a bad deal. The spokespeople also said Kelly may have said something along the lines of, "The president doesn't know the full impact of DACA." But they said they don't believe he called him an "idiot." 
 
 The spokespeople disputed that Kelly is less engaged in his job. They said he still sees the president and is in the Oval Office more than anyone else. They said Kelly put a much-needed system in place in the West Wing and has over time felt the need to hover less over the president. They said Kelly is still the first person in the White House at 6 a.m. "The president talks to a lot of people but no one talks to him more than the chief of staff," one of them said. 
 
 The spokespeople said they have not heard Trump talk seriously about withdrawing all troops from the Korean Peninsula. 
 
 One person who has known and worked with Kelly over the years said he uses "coarse language" when he is in what he believes to be trusted company. 
 
 The public has seen some glimpses of the Kelly that White House officials describe privately. In October, he made comments about a Florida congresswoman that were not accurate. He also remarked that when he was growing up "women were sacred," suggesting he holds some antiquated views of women's roles. And Kelly angered the president in January when he suggested on Fox News that Trump wasn't fully informed on immigration issues. 
 
 Trump "felt misled" 
 
 Multiple White House staff pointed to the controversy over the allegations against Porter as an instance where the frustrations aides have had with Kelly intersected to make a bad problem worse. They said aides were particularly taken aback by his attempt to inaccurately portray his role in Porter's ouster. 
 
 While Kelly initially defended Porter publicly, he was even more emphatic in private, four current and former officials said. Kelly, who had access to Porter's FBI file, suggested to aides that he had information that told a different story than news reports and urged Porter for some 18 hours not to resign, the officials said. 
 
 Once Porter resigned, Kelly stunned aides when he urged senior White House officials in a staff meeting to advance the false narrative that he had ousted Porter less than an hour after learning the details of the allegations, the officials said. 
 
 One official said that aides who have details that others may not say Kelly is correct that he moved within less than an hour to fire Porter. 
 
 Kelly has similarly been less than forthcoming at times with the president, officials said. The two men clashed early on over who would replace Kelly as Homeland Security secretary, three current and former officials said. Trump had wanted to consider Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and tasked Kelly with bringing him a short list of candidates, the officials said. 
 
 After some informal interviews with potential nominees, Kelly gave Trump two choices, according to the officials: Kobach and Kelly's deputy Kirstjen Nielsen. 
 
 Trump later became convinced Kelly had manipulated the process so he'd pick Nielsen, given the doubts that Kobach could get confirmed, the officials said. "He felt misled," said a senior White House official who was there at the time. 
 
 Trump was suspicious that Kelly would similarly try to ensure someone he favored would replace former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, three current and former officials said. Trump had for months complained that McMaster's briefing style was irritating and would do impressions of the three-star general bellowing out a list of points in staccato, his body puffing up and down as he spoke, the officials said. Sometimes Trump would see McMaster on his schedule and ask aides to have him write up a memo instead, the officials said, so he didn't have to meet with him. The president ultimately settled on a successor for McMaster whom officials said was not a Kelly pick, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. 
 
 Most recently, Trump fumed over reports on a passage in former FBI Director James Comey's book about Kelly calling Comey, after the president unceremoniously fired him, to say he didn't want to work for "dishonorable" people, according to five officials. 
 
 When reports of the phone call first surfaced last summer, Kelly denied disparaging the president, three officials said. 
 
 The White House spokespeople said the list of candidates the Office of Presidential Personnel had to succeed Kelly was longer than Kobach and Nielsen, but that doesn't mean it didn't come down to those two once it went to the president. They said after Trump chose Nielsen he saw criticism of her from conservatives and confronted Kelly about it. 
 
 They did not dispute that Trump imitated McMaster and pushed him off his schedule at times in favor of a memo. They confirmed that Bolton was not Kelly's preferred choice. 
 
 The spokespeople said Kelly denies saying anything negative about the president to Comey and that it was merely a call to wish him luck. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
 
 / Updated By Dartunorro Clark 
 
 John Kelly, the new White House chief of staff, is a retired four-star Marine general who served in the military for over four decades. 
 
 Kelly, 67, one of the nation's longest-serving commanders, came into Donald Trump’s orbit because of positions on terrorism and immigration that mirrored the president's. He equates leaks, which have plagued the administration, with treason and knows how to work the halls of Congress, which the White House has also had trouble doing. 
 
 Trump named Kelly as his chief of staff Friday afternoon in the administration's latest shakeup. Kelly was not involved in the 2016 campaign and didn't support any of the candidates. He said only that he would be happy to serve in a Republican administration. 
 
 Kelly, 67, was born in Brighton, a working-class Boston enclave that he described to NPR in 2015 as a "very, very, very Marine town." 
 
 "So, back in my neighborhood in Boston, a working-class neighborhood, when you got your draft notice, you went down, and you took your draft physical. And then, if you passed it, you joined the Marine Corps," he told NPR. 
 
 And he did just that. In 1970, Kelly enlisted in the Marines. By 1972, he was discharged as a sergeant and enrolled at the University of Massachusetts, according to an online biography. After graduating he went right back into the military, serving a storied four-decade career, garnering respect from both sides of the political aisle and admiration from military officers. 
 
 He led the Southern Command, where he oversaw U.S. military operations in South and Central America, including the southern border, and he formed a tough immigration stance. 
 
 "The border is, if not wide open, then certainly open enough to get what the demand requires inside of the country," Kelly told the House Armed Services Committee in 2015. 
 
 He doubled down on that sentiment earlier this year when he appeared before the House Homeland Security Committee and said he believes that "smugglers" were bringing "tens of thousands of people to our nation’s doorstep" from across the border "mostly from Central America and Mexico." 
 
 "As a nation, control of our borders is paramount," he added. 
 
 When Trump tapped Kelly to lead Homeland Security he called him "the right person to spearhead the urgent mission of stopping illegal immigration and securing our borders." 
 
 Kelly also commanded Marines during some of the most intense fighting during the Iraq war, in which two of his sons also served. 
 
 In 2010, one of Kelly’s sons, Marine 1st Lt. Robert Michael Kelly, 29, was killed in combat in Afghanistan after stepping on a land mine, making Kelly the highest-ranking military officer to lose a child during the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. Kelly’s wife, Karen, started a scholarship in her son’s name. 
 
 The commander of the US Southern Command, General John Kelly (C) arrives at the Guatemalan Air Force base on March 2, 2015 in Guatemala City. File Johan Ordonez / AFP/Getty Images file 
 
 In picking Kelly, Trump may also be betting on getting his agenda through Congress more effectively. 
 
 In 2004, Kelly came back from a two-year command position in Iraq and served as the legislative liaison for the Marines until 2007, before retiring in 2015 from the military. 
 
 Since Priebus’ fate was tied the failure of congressional Republicans to repeal Obamacare, a source told NBC News, Kelly’s ability to rub elbows with lawmakers could be a plus for the White House. 
 
 Aside from being in lockstep with Trump on immigration matters, he has also sided with the president on sensitive issues, such as leaks, which have riled the administration on multiple occasion. 
 
 Kelly told Meet The Press earlier this year intelligence leaks were "darn close to treason." 
 
 In the same interview, he also defended the president on Russia, particularly a report that indicated White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner had proposed a secret communication channel with the Kremlin so that discussions before the inauguration could not be detected. 
 
 "I don’t see any big issue here relative to Jared," Kelly said of the report, which Kushner also has since denied.
– A friend of John Kelly, President Trump's new chief of staff, says the retired general will bring order and stability to the White House. “He knows how to do this: with common sense and good leadership,” the unnamed friend tells the Washington Post. “He won’t suffer idiots and fools.” Kelly, who spent 45 years in the Marines and was currently serving as the head of the Department of Homeland Security, was tapped by Trump to replace Reince Priebus on Friday. Kelly's friend also offered a hint of how the new chief of staff will handle the leaks that are so vexing Trump's aides: “Simply go dark and do not engage.” Here's what else you need to know about Kelly and his new role in the White House: The New York Times reports the success of Kelly—the first general to be chief of staff since the Nixon administration—will hinge on bringing Trump's staff to heel. The president must give Kelly "the authority to crack down on the behavior of his other aides." Kelly got the job as chief of staff because he and Trump are simpatico when it comes to terrorism and immigration, according to NBC News. Kelly has said "smugglers" are bringing "tens of thousands of people to our nation's doorstep." He's also called leaks "darn close to treason" and defended Jared Kushner on the Russia front. CNN's John Kirby says if Trump is "wise enough to use" Kelly, he could "actually come out on the far side of these first six tumultuous months looking pretty good." The national security analyst calls Kelly "a marvel of organization and efficiency, of candid counsel and dogged persistence." While Kelly has had bipartisan support in the past, not everyone is excited about his promotion, the Hill reports. Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee calls Kelly an "extremist" and accuses Trump of "militarizing the White House." And the Nation calls Kelly's promotion a "disaster for immigrants." It looks at six policies Kelly has put in place during his time at the Department of Homeland Security that have caused fear to take hold of immigrant communities. Finally, while Trump enjoys having "my generals" around—preferring them to wear their uniforms even if they're retired and bragging that they look like they came from "central casting"—he doesn't have a history of actually listening to them, Slate reports. That's something Kelly needs to recognize as he starts his new White House gig.