August 1, 2017

William Cohan: “Yes, mistakes were made. Trusting Trump to stand by him, though, was probably his biggest mistake. Trump is loyal to no one but himself. The tragedy here is that Anthony, who wended his way to the president after turns supporting Scott Walker and Jeb Bush, should never have signed up for the Trump show in the first place. He should never have believed that Trump would somehow treat him differently than he has treated so many others.”

“Anthony had his shot. He blew it. He probably knows it. He is no doubt feeling humiliated. There are probably few people who feel even the slightest bit sorry for him. But I happen to be one of them. I know he knew better than to get involved with Trump, but he could not resist.”

Daily Beast politics editor Sam Stein tweeted: “In all seriousness, this is a sad story. Guy sold his company, divorced his wife, didn’t see his kid’s birth, for . . . this.”

New York Magazine: The Mooch’s 11-day wild ride through Trump’s White House.

Daily Beast: “Even before he formally started the job, Kelly was reaching out to top Capitol Hill Democrats in hopes of regaining political capital ahead of what is expected to be a bruising fight over tax reform and other administration priorities.”

Said one White House official: “Tax reform is gonna be a heavy lift. No reason to write off/alienate Democrats any more than we already have.”

“A spokeswoman for Nancy Pelosi said that Kelly reached out her over the weekend with the two holding a phone conversation on Sunday. A spokesman for Chuck Schumer… confirmed that Kelly reached out to him as well.”

“Looking forward to serving alongside John Kelly as we work for the American people.”

— Ivanka Trump, on Twitter, notably not suggesting she’ll work under Kelly.

A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds 60% of Americans say the Trump administration is running somewhat or very chaotically, compared to only 33% who say it is running well.

The survey was conducted entirely prior to the ouster of Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director, and was already in the field when Reince Priebus left the chief of staff position.

Playbook: “Republican sources said that the White House’s focus is on getting the West Wing in order before turning to fill Kelly’s slot at DHS. It’s unclear whether Trump will want to continue with a military official in the position, or turn to a more political operator. Either way, multiple sources said Trump’s operation wants someone who can be easily confirmed.”

“House Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX) is on the shortlist for Kelly replacements. He’s got the experience and political chops. Others in the mix include: ICE acting director Thomas Homan and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, though Kobach would likely have a hard time getting confirmed.”

Jonathan Swan: “Kelly is an almost perfect lab test of whether a Trump White House can be functional. He has all the ingredients to succeed: He’s been granted unprecedented authority (for Trump), he’s revered by all internally and has no dog in the factional wars in the West Wing. If he fails, we’ll know this White House is truly ungovernable.”

Politico: “White House officials said Kelly is planning to lock down the Oval Office, restricting the number of aides and outside visitors who can wander in. One aide said Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner have agreed to follow Kelly’s rules when it comes to visiting the Oval and sharing information with the president.”