WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley told reporters Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering five names in the search for his new chief of staff.
Speaking to the press on the White House lawn, Gidley said he expects a presidential decision to be made soon. He also suggested that Trump may extend the deal with John Kelly, the incumbent chief of staff who the president said earlier will leave the post at the end of the year.
Gidley's remarks are a reiteration of what Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. "Five people, really good ones," the president said.
Bloomberg news cited White House senior aide Kellyanne Conway as saying on Tuesday that Kelly, a retired U.S. Marine Corps general, will stay until at least Jan. 2.
Following Nick Ayers's refusal on Dec. 9 to fill the vacancy, Trump has spent days finding an alternative. Ayers, the 36-year-old chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, reportedly told Trump he could only serve until spring, but the president asked for a two-year term.
As the candidate for the head of the president's executive office hangs in the air, U.S. media have revealed a number of possible nominees, among them Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, House Republican Mark Meadows, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
While Meadows had already withdrawn himself from consideration, Mnuchin said Thursday he is happy with his current duty, hinting, however, that he would accept the president's appointment.
"I'm happy where I am ... Whatever the president wants," Mnuchin said.
