President Donald Trump has replaced Reince Priebus as his chief of staff. Trump announced Friday afternoon on Twitter that he has named Secretary of Homeland Security, General John F. Kelly, to the post.
I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff. He is a Great American….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017
The 45 year-old Preibus, a former chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the Republican National Committee, held the White House post for just over 6 months. It was the shortest tenure for a president’s first White House chief of staff since World War II. Newly named White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci suggested this week that Priebus was responsible for leaks to the media.
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos also took to Twitter on Friday, in defense of Preibus, calling his dismissal a “dumb move” by White House insiders.
Disappointed that my friend @Reince45 isn't going to be serving any longer as WH COS. Dumb move by WH insiders struggling for influence. pic.twitter.com/VYnO5IYnCB
— Robin Vos (@repvos) July 28, 2017
Preibus, a New Jersey native whose family moved to Wisconsin when he was 7 years old, graduated from Kenosha Tremper High School and UW Whitewater. He earned a law degree, and in 2007 became the youngest person elected to chair the RPW. He served three terms as RNC chair, beginning in 2011.
As RNC chair, Priebus gained media attention with unsubstantiated claims that elections in Wisconsin were plagued by what he termed “widespread voter fraud” — claims which helped to lay the groundwork for the passage of controversial voter ID legislation.
While Priebus had at times been critical of candidate Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, President Trump announced him as his choice for White House Chief of Staff shortly after he won the election.