• President Donald Trump is reportedly speaking with advisers about potential replacements for White House chief of staff John Kelly, who could be leaving his position this summer and possibly even within the next week.
  • The two top prospects for the job are reportedly Nick Ayers, who is currently chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, and Mick Mulvaney, the Office of Management and Budget chief and acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Trump administration is seemingly poised for another major shakeup.

President Donald Trump is speaking with advisers about potential replacements for White House chief of staff John Kelly, who could be leaving his position this summer and possibly even within the next week, sources told The Wall Street Journal.

Though Kelly’s departure could also come following Trump’s trip to Europe in mid-July, which will include a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Kelly reportedly told colleagues he doesn’t plan on staying in his current position past July 31, which would mark one year for him as chief of staff.

The two top prospects for the job are reportedly Nick Ayers, who is currently chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, and Mick Mulvaney, the Office of Management and Budget chief and acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Trump reportedly dined with Mulvaney earlier this week.

But the White House is pushing back against reports Kelly is planning on leaving. In reference to The Wall Street Journal report, White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters on Thursday told reporters, "I spoke to the president who refuted this article. He said it is absolutely not true and that it is fake news."

The Trump adminitration has been rocked by controversial firings and departures since its earliest days. Roughly half of those who held top positions in the White House have left under varying circumstances.

To put this into perspective, Trump is in the second year of his tenure but on his third national security adviser (currently John Bolton).

Comparatively, there were just a few departures by the same point in the Bush and Obama administrations.

When Kelly took over the job from Reince Preibus, leaving his position as Homeland Security chief, some hoped he would help tame Trump and bring order to the White House. But the Trump administration has experienced ongoing chaos and Kelly has reportedly butted heads with the president on a number of occasions.