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AFP
WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump is reported to be preparing a reshuffle at the White House -- fuelled by fallings out between his wife and senior staff -- after a week of angry brooding over midterm elections that weakened his grip on Congress.
The start to the second half of Trump's first term is enveloped in gloom as the president surveys the damage from the midterms, tension with some of America's closest allies, and now turmoil inside the administration.
The biggest name on the chopping block, according to multiple US media reports, is chief of staff John Kelly.
A retired Marine Corps general, he has often been nicknamed"the adult in the room" during Trump's drama-prone administration, even if critics say he has done little to temper the president's most damaging outbursts.
Now Kelly's days are numbered, according to the unconfirmed but mounting leaks to US media.
His position, tenuous for months, has been undermined further by First Lady Melania Trump's anger that Kelly refused to promote some of her aides, US media reports say.
Nick Ayers, a 36-year-old chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence and renowned political consultant, is reportedly high on Trump's list as a replacement.
Another expected reshuffle casualty is Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, a Kelly ally who oversees the politically sensitive task of carrying out Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.
Among her critics has been National Security Adviser John Bolton, who last month was widely reported to have had a shouting match with Kelly right outside the Oval Office over Nielsen's performance.
