The White House suggested Friday that the person President Trump might pick to replace chief of staff John Kelly could be — John Kelly.
Administration spokesman Hogan Gidley told reporters that Trump had a short list of five candidates he was considering, repeating what the president had said Thursday, but then added that the commander-in-chief could also decide to “extend” his current deal with Kelly.
“The president said yesterday he has about five names in the hopper. We expect him to make an announcement pretty quickly,” Gidley said.
“Obviously, if the president and the chief of staff make another deal and extend it, they can do that. It’s their prerogative to do so. Right now, currently, John Kelly is expected to leave at the first of the year,” he continued.
He turned coy when asked who was on the list, saying it was up to Trump to announce any decisions.
“I’m not going to tell you who that’s going to be and I definitely don’t have any tips for you,” he said.
Gidley ignored several questions about whether Chris Christie — who met with Trump to discuss the gig — was in the running.
Some reports said that first son-in-law Jared Kushner was also under consideration, while other outlets contradicted those reports.
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