Former Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus has always seemed like an odd choice to be chief of staff in a White House as competitive and cutthroat as the one in place under Donald Trump. Preibus seems out of place, lost, and is now getting blamed for the chaos in the administration.
More than a dozen staffers who spoke to Politico said the “knives are out” for Priebus because many feel he has been completely ineffective, especially at damage control for the various controversies swirling around the White House. As Politico reports:
“They described a micro-manager who sprints from one West Wing meeting to another, inserting himself into conversations big and small and leaving many staffers feeling as if he’s trying to block their access to Trump. They vented about his determination to fill the administration with his political allies. And they expressed alarm at what they say are directionless morning staff meetings Priebus oversees that could otherwise be used to rigorously set the day’s agenda and counterbalance the president’s own unpredictability.”
One staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity commented:
“There’s a real frustration among many — including from the president — that things aren’t going as smoothly as one had hoped. Reince, fairly or not, is likely to take the blame and take the fault for that.”
Another had this to say about the chief of staff:
“It’s sheer incompetence. There’s a lack of management, and a lack of strategy.”
Priebus is also thought to be at odds with senior counselor and shadow president Steve Bannon, even though Bannon told Politico:
“We’re implementing President Trump’s agenda in record time and fulfilling one campaign promise after another. That shows you what a great job Reince is doing.”
One staffer familiar with the dynamic inside the West Wing said Priebus has a thankless job, adding:
“I feel for him. I really do.”
Featured Image Via Gage Skidmore for Flickr available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License
