White House chief of staff John Kelly is instituting a policy that will send only properly vetted information to the president’s desk, a similar structure to that used by former presidents.
Kelly and another staffer will make sure policy documents from agencies, White House memos, agency reports and news clips are properly reviewed before being delivered to President Donald Trump, Politico reports.
The White House confirmed that Kelly has instituted a new practice for information flow through the Oval Office.
“General Kelly is instilling processes to ensure that the President has the information and analysis he needs to make decisions,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. “The White House staff will continue to support the President by ensuring that the policy options presented to him reflect all relevant viewpoints, including any dissenting views.”
Kelly’s new system is similar to how former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush received work related information. “We really worked hard to limit the extent to which he would see anything outside of that channel,” Doug Kramer, staff secretary to Obama, told Politico. “People are constantly trying to circumvent the process because they want to get to the president, particularly during emergencies.”
A former Trump staffer told Bloomberg News the Oval Office was like the “Hunger Games” prior to Kelly, with aides battling to sell access to the president.
“It’s known those days are over,” the former staffer said. “Everyone, including staff, knows it’s a new day of structure and knows not to mess with Kelly.”
Kelly joined the White House as chief of staff after Reince Priebus left in late July.
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