Since joining the West Wing as the president's chief of staff, John Kelly has earned a reputation for imposing order on the living knot of snakes that is the Trump White House. Even though keeping Trump on task is largely a fool's errand, Kelly seems to be as successful as anyone could reasonably ask. But apparently he's running into a wall with Trump's age-old ally, nepotism.

According to Politico, Kelly has been struggling to figure out exactly what it is that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump do. More specifically, what their roles are and how to factor that into a newly regimented White House. Kelly was reportedly frustrated with Kushner even back when he was the hard line anti-immigrant head of Homeland Security, when Kushner went behind his back to talk about DACA with Democratic senators.

Officials have tried to downplay the tensions, saying that either Kelly was never peeved at Kushner or he was but now they're fine. It might be hard to take that seriously though, since the Trump White House seems like a grim, weird place to work. But Kushner and Ivanka reportedly appreciate the organization Kelly's brought in, presumably replacing the old system of "who can shout the loudest." Either way, the really interesting nugget is who else is second-guessing the family's roles, per Politico:

It’s not just Kelly who is uncertain of how to make the arrangement work. In recent months, according to multiple administration officials, the president has also been casually surveying people close to him about whether having his family members in the government is creating too much noise. “Baby, you’re getting killed, this is a bad deal,” Trump has told Ivanka Trump, in front of other staffers, after soaking in the criticisms of the role his daughter is playing.

Even Trump himself, the guy who would date his daughter if he could, is now unsure about whether or not she and his son-in-law should be in the White House. However, that doesn't mean that the president suddenly grew a moral compass.

Privately, Trump has asked some senior staffers their thoughts on how Kushner and Ivanka Trump can withstand the personal attacks, according to White House officials. Another White House official said the president's concern about their current roles was not driven by any sense that they were unable to serve appropriately, but out of a desire to protect his daughter and son-in-law.

Okay, so it hasn't dawned yet on Trump that these two might be incompetent, a conclusion the rest of the world seems to have already drawn. Kushner is still the White House's main guy on peace in the Middle East, where he hopes to use the same high-level negotiating tactics that got Harvard to admit him in exchange for cash, and Ivanka is still pretending she can influence policy. But, there are doubts.

For now at least, Jared and Ivanka are probably safe. After all, they aren't Donald Jr.

Watch Now:

Trump's Nine Russia Scandals