White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has been under fire for the last week since the revelation that former West Wing staffer Rob Porter's two ex-wives had accused him of physical and mental abuse. The White House has insisted that senior officials, including Kelly, were unaware of the full nature of the allegations. But some have called for Kelly to step down over the handling of the situation.
It's a reminder of the pressure and challenges that White House Chiefs of Staff face, a subject very familiar to writer Chris Whipple. He's written a book examining the role past chiefs of staff have played in the West Wing. It's called The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency.
Back in April 2017, Houston Matters host Craig Cohen talked with Whipple about how the job traditionally has been performed and how that may have changed under the Trump administration.