Tweeting that there is "no chaos" in the White House, President Donald Trump brought in a no-nonsense retired Marine Corps general, John Kelly, as his chief of staff Monday to restore order to an administration shaken by six months of policy setbacks, personnel changes and media leaks.
Within hours, White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci had been given his walking papers, in a sign that Kelly would assert authority in a way his predecessor Reince Priebus never was able to do as Oval Office gatekeeper.
Scaramucci's abrupt dismissal came little more than a week after he was brought in with great fanfare to head the battered White House communications shop. His hiring sent shivers through the staff as he threatened to fire anyone suspected of leaking information to the press. He quickly fell out of favor, however, after telephoning a reporter for the weekly magazine The New Yorker and unleashing an embarrassing, profanity-laced rant.
Scaramucci's departure was announced in a terse statement issued by Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders: "Anthony Scaramucci will be leaving his role as White House communications director. Mr. Scaramucci felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team. We wish him all the best."
A short time later, Sanders, who had been named press secretary by Scaramucci on his first day in the job, told reporters, "The president certainly felt that Anthony's comments (to The New Yorker) were inappropriate for a person in that position."
Sanders said Scaramucci had been relieved of all duties in the White House, including a position with the Export-Import Bank that he held before being named communications director.
She also made clear that "the president has given full authority to General Kelly" to determine who has access to the Oval Office.
David Cohen, a political scientist at the University of Akron who has studied the office of the chief of staff, said Kelly's first day bodes well for his mission of righting the White House ship.
"If Kelly has been granted the power to hire and fire and to control access to the president, that is a good thing for the country," Cohen said. "Because he can restore some discipline and restore some sanity to the chaos that is gripping the White House."
On Capitol Hill, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine applauded the changes. "I was pleased to learn of [Scaramucci's] departure, and this shows me that General Kelly is taking firm control, and that he is not going to tolerate the kind of unacceptable behavior that Mr. Scaramucci has exhibited in just 10 days on the job."
"I salute General Kelly for making this one of his earliest moves," Collins said. "I believe General Kelly will impose discipline and order on a rather chaotic and conflict-ridden White House staff. This is a good move."
Among Kelly's biggest challenges will be stopping the leaks to reporters that have bedeviled Trump during his first six months in office, and controlling access to the Oval Office.
During his six months in the job, Reince Priebus was known to have been unable to keep a number of White House officials, including the president's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, from walking in on Trump unannounced, often with the intention of influencing administration policy. News reports this week said both Kushner and Ivanka Trump had given their blessing to Kelly's selection.
Akron University Professor Cohen says Trump "must have a different version of reality" if he thinks there is no chaos in the White House, but he also knows he needs a strong voice to control his impulsiveness.
"I think what we're going to see is over time the chief of staff and the president butting heads quite a bit," Cohen said. "I don't know if it'll be a relationship that will be successful in the long run."
Kelly's ability to succeed ultimately depends on whether Trump gives him full authority, the political scholar added, saying: "I have grave doubts whether President Trump will be able to change his management style."
川普总统一方面发推说白宫“没有乱象”，一方面任用行事作风果断的退役海军陆战队上将约翰·凯利出任白宫办公厅主任整顿局面。凯利星期一宣誓就职。六个月来，白宫不断受到政策受挫、人事变动和媒体爆料的冲击。
凯利上任几个小时之内就要求白宫通讯联络主任安东尼·斯卡拉穆奇辞职，显示出凯利会行使其前任雷恩斯·普利巴斯从未行使过的实权。
被解除职务的斯卡拉穆奇一个多星期前刚刚大张旗鼓地就任白宫通讯联络主任。他威胁要开除所有被怀疑向媒体泄密的工作人员，让大家不寒而栗。然而，在致电“纽约客周刊”记者，频爆粗口，颜面尽失后，马上就失去了川普的信任。
白宫资讯秘书萨拉·哈克比·桑德斯星期一下午发表简短声明说：“安东尼·斯卡拉穆奇将不再担任白宫通讯联络主任一职。斯卡拉穆奇先生觉得，最好能让办公厅主任约翰·凯利全新开始，并得以组建自己的团队。我们向他致以最美好的祝愿。”
桑德斯是斯卡拉穆奇上任第一天任命的白宫发言人。她稍后告诉记者说：“总统确实感觉，以安东尼的身份而言，他对纽约客记者说的那些话十分不当。”
桑德斯说，斯卡拉穆奇被解除了他在白宫的所有职务，包括就任通讯联络主任前在进出口银行担任的职务。
桑德斯还明确表示，“川普让凯利上将全权决定，谁可以到椭圆办公室见总统。”
对白宫办公厅主任一职有专门研究的阿克伦大学政治学教授戴维·科恩说，凯利的使命是矫正白宫的航向，他第一天的动作是个良好的预兆。
科恩说：“如果凯利被授予人事任免权，并控制接触总统的渠道，这对国家来说是好事情。因为他能够恢复些纪律，恢复些理性，现在的白宫备受乱象困扰。”
在国会山，来自缅因州的共和党籍参议员苏珊·柯林斯为白宫的这一人事调整叫好。她说：“我乐见他的离职，这向我显示，凯利将军正在坚决控制局面，他不会容忍斯卡拉穆奇上任仅10天就表现出来的那种令人无法接受的行为。”
柯林斯参议员说：“我为凯利将军采取的这一最早措施之一向他致敬。我相信，凯利将军将在混乱和冲突不断的白宫幕僚中间严格树立纪律和秩序。这是一个好措施。“
凯利最大的挑战将包括制止白宫幕僚向媒体泄露内部信息。川普执政头六个月来一直受泄密问题的困扰。另一个挑战是控制谁能进入白宫椭圆形办公室直接与总统讲话。
川普执政的头六个月里，时任白宫办公厅主任的普利巴斯没能起到椭圆形办公室看门人的职责。包括总统女儿伊万卡和女婿库什纳在内的一些白宫官员往往不宣而入就能同川普谈话。他们找总统常常是为了影响政策。媒体本周报道说，库什纳和伊万卡都赞同任用凯利。
阿克伦大学的科恩教授说，如果川普认为白宫没有乱象，那他“一定有不同的现实解读版本”，不过川普也知道，他需要一个强有力的声音来控制他的冲动。
科恩说：“我认为，我们将看到的是，随着时间的发展，办公厅主任和总统之间会出现不少碰撞。长期来看，我不知道这会不会是一个成功的关系。”
科恩认为，凯利能否成功，最终取决于川普是不是充分授予他权威。科恩说：“川普总统是否能够改变他的管理方式，我严重存疑。”
在凯利星期一宣誓就任的时候，川普说：“他绝对会是一位出色的办公厅主任，对此我毫无疑问。”在随后不久召开的内阁会议上，川普赞扬了他执政六个月期间凯利担任国土安全部长时所作的工作。川普总统说：“他所作的简直就是奇迹。”他提到，今年的非法越境事件大幅下降。