Reince Priebus took the punishing job of President Donald Trump's chief of staff with the idea that he would stick it out for at least one year.

Six months in, with one of his top allies in the West Wing — press secretary Sean Spicer — on his way out, Priebus is in defensive mode, his role diminished and an internal rival hogging the limelight.


Trump's decision to bring Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci into the role of communications director shows the rising power of political outsiders and the diminished influence of establishment figures — which Priebus, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, epitomizes.

One White House official and two outside advisers said that while Scaramucci was brought into the White House for the communications job, he's considered an internal candidate to eventually succeed Priebus as chief of staff. There are also a handful of outside candidates.

The unexpected hire has raised questions of whether more shake-ups are coming, even as the White House has tried to downplay its internal discord. The instability has made it difficult for the administration to fend off questions about ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia and to move forward an embattled legislative agenda.

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Despite frequent reports his position is in jeopardy, Priebus hopes to finish out his year, according to people close to him. He is eyeing another big hurdle this week of getting the health care bill to pass through the Senate, defenders said Sunday.

"Reince is focused on driving the president's bold agenda, and that has been and always will be his top priority," White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said.

Still, his stature in the White House appears to be shrinking. Priebus was fiercely opposed to hiring Scaramucci, saying the former financier had no prior experience in government communications. They have been at odds with each other since Scaramucci was passed over for the director of public liaison role in February.

Scaramucci made clear to reporters on Friday that he reports directly to Trump, not Priebus, even though the chief of staff would typically oversee communications and other portfolios.

Special assistant and social media director Dan Scavino also tweeted on Saturday that he reports directly to the president.

"In a normal White House, every staffer reports to the chief of staff," said Republican strategist Alex Conant. “Any staffer who believes that they don't report to the chief of staff is going to be a potential headache for the chief of staff."

Scaramucci also said he plans to reset the culture of the White House communications shop so that it is focused on protecting the president. Republicans in and out of the White House have grumbled that the press operation, which is staffed with RNC alums including outgoing press secretary Spicer, was disorganized in its defense of Trump’s actions but always eager to boost Priebus.

"I would like to reset the culture inside the comms department so that people recognize that I'm actually there to serve them, and they're going to be working with me, not for me," Scaramucci said on FOX News. "That's a very big distinction. And that all of us are there to serve the president of the United States and his agenda."

Scaramucci has promised to "audit" the communications shop, and many staffers who are closely aligned with Priebus are bracing for their fate, multiple White House officials said.

In a White House full of internal fiefdoms, Spicer is the third senior staffer brought into the White House by Priebus who has been shown the door. After the House failed on its first attempt to pass a health care bill, Priebus' deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh was pushed out. She has since returned to the RNC. Former communications director Mike Dubke also resigned in May.

"His strength was in his people," a close White House adviser to Trump said of Reince. "He didn't have personal clout, he had organizational clout, so losing another staffer is eroding his organizational clout."

Priebus also has a reduced policy footprint now that the action on health care has moved to the Senate.

He's seen as a "House guy" because of his close relationship with House Speaker Paul Ryan. Once the Senate took over, Priebus allowed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to work with the White House legislative affairs shop and Vice President Mike Pence.

When that effort floundered, Trump brought in outside help instead of leaning harder on his chief of staff. He has called upon his former campaign aides Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie to help strong-arm senators to support the bill.

Still, with face-time key to staffers’ influence, Priebus remains at Trump’s side often. He had lunch with the president Saturday at his golf course in northern Virginia, a sign to some aides that Priebus’ position is safe.

"He's still the White House chief of staff,” the Trump adviser said, before adding: “For now."

