Priebus a central figure in Trump’s White House drama
WASHINGTON — In the behind-the-scenes drama of who’s up and who’s down in Donald Trump’s White House, chief of staff Reince Priebus is playing a starring role.
Priebus, a genial Midwesterner with deep ties to the Republican establishment that Trump toppled, has faced questions about his future since the day he set foot in the West Wing. And the focus on him is intensifying following Trump’s failure to get enough GOP lawmakers to support a White House-backed health care bill, an embarrassing blow for the new president.
There’s blame to spare for the health care debacle at both the White House and on Capitol Hill. But Priebus is a particularly rich target, given that his value to Trump is tied to his relationships with GOP lawmakers, many of whom were elected during his six years as chairman of the Republican National Committee.
“Reince doesn’t have a magic wand,” said Henry Barbour, a friend and Republican national committeeman. “He doesn’t have an ability to make people do what they don’t want to do — and he doesn’t want to.”