--- title: What the White House Staffing Changes Mean description: President Trump replaced chief of staff Reince Priebus with Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, a choice that was widely praised. canonical: https://time.com/4880412/what-the-white-house-staffing-changes-mean/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-31T16:17:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:26:22.324Z article:section: Politics og:title: What the White House Staffing Changes Mean og:description: President Trump replaced chief of staff Reince Priebus with Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, a choice that was widely praised. og:url: https://time.com/4880412/what-the-white-house-staffing-changes-mean/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What the White House Staffing Changes Mean twitter:description: President Trump replaced chief of staff Reince Priebus with Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, a choice that was widely praised. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What the White House Staffing Changes Mean > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9a5b9362-5649-48c8-993b-3128781decc3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Tells Police Officers Not to be 'Too Nice' to Suspects [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Tells Police Officers Not to be 'Too Nice' to Suspects](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VHP3sJSn.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2017-07-28. President Donald Trump told a crowd of police officers on Long Island in New York not to be "too nice" to suspected gang and criminal cartel members being taken into custody. He also seemed to encourage officers to be "rough."_ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jul 31, 2017 4:17 PM UTC President Donald Trump told a crowd of police officers on Long Island in New York not to be "too nice" to suspected gang and criminal cartel members being taken into custody. He also seemed to encourage officers to be "rough." by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jul 31, 2017 4:17 PM UTC President Trump replaced chief of staff Reince Priebus Friday with Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. It capped a turbulent six months in the job for the former RNC chair, who had never been fully empowered by a president who undercut him and seemed to encourage a culture of backbiting. The hiring of Kelly, a former Marine general, has drawn widespread praise. But it remains to be seen how his no-nonsense approach will adapt to the unruly-by-design West Wing. White House officials say they are trying to give Kelly space to take on a firmer leadership style, but it’s hard to see the feuding factions setting aside their competing agendas anytime soon—particularly when the president has seemed to enjoy the behavior. Meanwhile, Trump believes everything is going great in his West Wing. “No WH chaos!” Trump tweeted Monday. That’s why he’s parted with his chief of staff, a deputy chief of staff, a national security advisor, a communications director, and a press secretary—not to mention firing an acting attorney general and an FBI director. Trump spent the weekend sending rambling tweets about healthcare and foreign policy, threatening to undermine cost sharing reduction payments that have supported the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces and sounding a tough line on China. It is unclear whether either initiative has the buy-in of his staff or his new chief of staff. Lost in the staff shuffle were Trump’s comments encouraging law enforcement to get tougher on those in their custody. Congress looks past healthcare, despite Trump’s tweets. And the latest North Korea missile test highlight’s the escalating foreign policy challenge on the peninsula. _Here are your must reads:_ **Must Reads** [President Trump Has Replaced Chief of Staff Reince Priebus ](http://time.com/4879260/donald-trump-reince-priebus-john-kelly/)Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly sworn into the new job Monday \[TIME\] [Healthcare Repeal Failed. Here’s What’s Next for the Senate ](http://time.com/4878591/obamacare-senate-meltdown/)TIME’s Philip Elliott on the path forward [The Final Humiliation of Reince Priebus ](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/the-final-humiliation-of-reince-priebus/535368/)Like his party, the former White House chief of staff swallowed his principles in the name of power \[The Atlantic\] [Ivanka and Jared Find Their Limits in Trump’s White House ](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/30/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner-241149)Their policy influence is lacking \[Politico\] [White House Looks at Scaling Back U.S. Military Presence in Afghanistan ](https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-looks-at-scaling-back-u-s-military-presence-in-afghanistan-1501426803)Unable to agree on a plan to help turn back Taliban advances, the White House is exploring its options \[Wall Street Journal\] **Sound Off** “We’ll handle North Korea. We’ll be able to handle North Korea. It will be handled. We handle everything.” — President Trump at a Monday Cabinet meeting “I think it’s a good time to hit the reset button. I think he was right to hit the reset button. And I think that it was something that I think the White House needs. I think it’s healthy and I support him in it.” — Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to CNN Friday **Bits and Bites** [How the Trump administration broke the State Department](http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/07/31/how-the-trump-administration-broke-the-state-department/) \[Foreign Policy\] [U.S. displays military firepower after Pyongyang’s latest ICBM test](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-displays-military-firepower-after-pyongyangs-latest-icbm-test/2017/07/30/35840ffa-7542-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8%5Fstory.html?hpid=hp%5Fhp-top-table-main%5Fusnkorea-345pm:homepage/story&utm%5Fterm=.6ed6b754c5dc) \[Washington Post\] [Sage Advice From the ‘Gold Standard’ of White House Chiefs of Staff](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/us/politics/john-kelly-james-baker-white-house.html?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=newsletter%5Faxiosam&stream=top-stories&%5Fr=0) \[New York Times\] [President Trump Tells Police Officers Not To Be ‘Too Nice’ With Suspects](http://time.com/4878838/president-donald-trump-police-officers/) \[TIME\] [Next Up for GOP Congress: Raising the Debt Ceiling](https://www.wsj.com/articles/next-up-for-gop-congress-raising-the-debt-ceiling-1501433026) \[Wall Street Journal\] [Major GOP-aligned group pledges to spend millions on tax reform fight](http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article164451467.html) \[McClatchy\] [Putin says US will have to shed 755 from diplomatic staff](https://apnews.com/76f298af4fe340749cfb161f7c11f79e/Putin-says-US-will-have-to-shed-755-from-diplomatic-staff) \[Associated Press\] [McConnell wages war down South](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/31/mcconnell-alabama-moore-brooks-strange-241138) \[Politico\] [Jeff Sessions Wants to Mend His Tattered Relationship With President Trump](http://time.com/4879232/jeff-sessions-donald-trump-ms-13/) \[Associated Press\] [Vulnerable GOP Senators May Pay A Price For Obamacare Vote](http://time.com/4878060/obamacare-heller-flake/) \[TIME\] [President Trump: Republican Senators ‘Look Like Fools’ for Losing Health Care Vote](http://time.com/4879548/donald-trump-health-care-republican-senators/) \[TIME\] [Dem redistricting group clocks $10.8 million in first 6 months](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/31/democratic-redistricting-fundraising-obama-241154) \[Politico\] ## Transcript It is the policy of this administration do dismantle, decimate, and eradicate MS- 13. And I don't think you know how much the public respects and admires you. You're saving American lives every day. And we have your backs. Believe me. We have your backs 100 %. Not like the old days. Not like the old days. [ APPLAUSE ] It's essential that Congress fund another 10, 000 officers, and we're asking for that. So that we can eliminate MS13 and root out the criminal cartels from our country. Now, we're getting them out anyway, but we'd like to get them out a lot faster. And when you see these towns, and when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in, rough. I said, please don't be too nice. like when you guys put somebody in the car and you are protecting their head. You know, the way you put the hand over like do not hit the head and they have just killed somebody. Do not hit their head. I said you can take the hand away okay. The men and women of VICE are turning the tide in the battle against MS 13. But we need more resources from Congress and we're getting them. Congress is actually opening and really doing a job. They should have approved health care last night, but You can't have everything. Boy boy. They've been working on that one for seven years. Can you believe that? The swamp. But we'll get it done. We're gonna get it done. You know, I said from the beginning. Let Obamacare implode and then do it. I turned out to be right. Let Obama Care unplug. 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