Nick Ayers, Aide to Pence, Declines Offer to Be Trump’s Chief of Staff

Authored by nytimes.com and submitted by RationalAnon

Other advisers to Mr. Trump were stunned by the turn of events. One former senior administration official called it a humiliation for Mr. Trump and his adult children, an emotion that the president tries to avoid at all costs.

For more than six months, Mr. Ayers had been viewed as the favored candidate of the president’s daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who have been seen as maneuvering for greater control and influence around the president. They had clashed repeatedly with Mr. Kelly as he tried to establish more regulated channels to the president. Matt Drudge, an ally of Mr. Kushner, weeks ago posted a photo of Mr. Ayers on The Drudge Report as the next chief of staff.

But some West Wing officials said Mr. Ayers had been measured and cautious in recent days as he negotiated with Mr. Trump and his family. Before turning down the job, Mr. Ayers told the president that he would be willing to do it only on an interim basis, through the spring.

Mr. Trump wants a long-term chief of staff, given the difficult period approaching, and he and Mr. Ayers were unable to agree on certain other terms, including whom he could dispose of from the current staff, three people familiar with the events said.

Other factors may also have weighed on Mr. Ayers. His ascension to the top West Wing job would have meant newfound scrutiny of his personal finances — last year he reported a net worth of $12.2 million to $54.8 million, a sizable sum for a political operative in his 30s who has amassed his own fortune. He accumulated his wealth partly through a web of political and consulting companies in which he has held ownership stakes.

And Mr. Ayers, who has been seen as a potential candidate for statewide office in Georgia, could have potentially faced a fate shared by many who have left the administration: a diminished public standing after an ugly parting with a mercurial president who often insults his former aides on Twitter.

Those who remain in the White House past the end of the year will have to face a fraught and uncertain dynamic. Several potential outcomes of the battles Mr. Trump confronts — on impeachment, in the special counsel inquiry and over allegations that he directed illegal hush payments in 2016 — may not have been advantageous for Mr. Ayers if he makes a run for office.

steve93 on December 9th, 2018 at 23:19 UTC »

Holy hell what kind of dumpster fire must you run that someone declines the job of CoS for President of the United States.

That, or Nick Ayers doesn’t want anyone digging into how he made $54 million in “political consulting” by age 34

MyUnclesALawyer on December 9th, 2018 at 22:04 UTC »

Local Man Decides Not to Voluntarily Step In Front of Train

Nayre_Trawe on December 9th, 2018 at 21:37 UTC »

Ouch. Not only did he decline but he is resigning. They shouldn't have made the offer public unless they were sure it would work out. Quite embarrassing.