Read: John Kelly couldn’t fix the Trump presidency.

That’s simply not how Donald Trump does business—never has been. Does someone need to impose order on the West Wing? The answer is obvious. But it wouldn’t matter whom you put in the job—George Patton, Angelo Dundee, Judge Judy, Darth Vader. If the president is going to outsource significant authority to Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and other staffers, and allow them to report directly to him, no chief of staff can perform the role as other presidents have utilized it.

Second, consider the context. Obama installed me as his first chief of staff because he needed to hit the ground running to pull the country out of the Great Recession and drive the most progressive agenda since the Great Society. Having worked for Clinton, I already understood how the White House machinery worked. I knew the legislative landscape well, having been a member of the House Democratic leadership. And the president-elect trusted me because of our history working together in Illinois politics. On paper, at least, I appeared to be right for that moment, just as Howard Baker, who had been Senate majority leader, was uniquely equipped to lead Ronald Reagan’s White House during the Iran-Contra scandal. Chiefs of staff have to be paired against the challenges of their moment.

It appears that Trump is choosing a chief of staff based primarily on whether he’s equipped to help with his reelection effort. But let’s be honest—that shouldn’t be the president’s most immediate concern. He’s got other battles to fight before he can even think about 2020. The remarkable access his Cabinet appointees have given to a range of special interests—including oil companies and polluters—over the past two years will make him subject to intense scrutiny from House Democrats. President George W. Bush’s legacy was tarnished by the lackluster performance of his FEMA chief, Michael Brown, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Trump needs a chief of staff who can reassert control over Cabinet agencies, containing these potential scandals and minimizing the potential for more, regardless of whether he or she has an interesting take on the latest polling out of Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Read: The anguish of John Kelly

Moreover, the next chief of staff is likely to be in office when the Mueller report comes in for a landing. The days, weeks, and months that follow will present a challenge unique in the history of the modern presidency. To survive, Trump will need a true wartime consigliere—someone capable of managing the substantive, political, and public-relations challenges of what is likely to be an incredibly damaging set of allegations. There’s no reason to believe that true wisdom about when to stand tall and when to duck coincides with the capacity to conjure up quippy dog whistles. In moments of chaos, the White House will need a steady hand.