Mike Pence's current Chief of Staff, Nick Ayers, was the front runner, even though he had not been formally offered the job to be John Kelly's replacement.
Nick Ayers Won't Be Trump Chief Of Staff, Rep. Mark Meadows Now Being Considered
December 9, 2018

John Kelly is leaving the White House by the end of the year (so, roughly 22 days or less) and that leaves a big hole in the "Donald Trump Babysitting Schedule." A name that had been floated around for a few weeks is Mike Pence's current chief of staff, Nick Ayers. Well, it looks like Ayers knows when it's time to pack up and leave the sinking ship because he publicly tweeted out that he won't be taking the job and is moving back to Georgia:

So who is in the running? Axios is reporting that the new front runner is Representative Mark Meadows from the House Freedom Caucus. The only pro would be that there would be one less "(Fake) Freedom Caucus" member infecting the halls of Congress with their insanity.

So why is Ayers out? A source told Axios' Jonathan Swan that "Nick couldn't give POTUS a two-year commitment, so he's going to help him on the outside instead."

Or, as former Obama staffer Tommy Vietor points out, he just might not want the scrutiny of a Senate confirmation:

Ayers is most likely going to have a soft landing at America First, the pro-Trump group where many former White House staff and those determined to lead the MAGA cult into 2020 election season seem to land. Cushy jobs, high pay, little work.

Let's see if Meadows takes it or if Trump just decides to be his own Chief of Staff, an outcome that I think is more likely.

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