As with Bannon before he was fired, Kelly questions Kushner's position

The month of August was observed as the beginning of Gen. John Kelly regaining control of the White House as the President's new chief of staff, restoring order to the administration that produced scandals and controversies daily. During a certain period when President Trump was at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Kelly was said to be interviewing White House aides to get a better feel for what their concerns were.

Kelly's issues with Trump's immediate family

During those sessions, Kelly was wondering what the role of some people in the West Wing was, such as Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka.

Judging from the title of Politico' s: "Kelly struggling to make sense of Kushner's West Wing role," the chief of staff appears to be expressing a similar sentiment with the President's son-in-law. As with Kelly questioning Bannon and Gorka's roles in the White House, it would eventually lead to them being fired. But it's difficult to know if this is also the case for Kushner or even Ivanka.

One of the changes Kelly made to how the White House functions was to isolate President Trump from random visits without approval. These changes were made especially because family members (Kushner and Ivanka) express frustration with the chaos in the West Wing under former chief of staff Reince Priebus. According to the Politico report, however, Kushner apparently complained to friends and allies that he didn't have the access he used to have to President Trump.

Kushner defies authority

The article referred to an incident which according to sources close to the chief of staff, triggered his anger. This was because Kushner was holding back-channel talks with select members of Congress over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. At the time, Gen. Kelly was the secretary of Homeland Security and supportive of the program.

Although White House officials dispute this, Kelly was angry specifically because he had not been informed of the discussions.

The article also suggests that Kelly was concerned with Kushner's free-ranging role at the White House and over the fact that he wasn't staying in his lane. This draws attention to Kelly's first order of business when he became the chief of staff, where he briefed West Wing staff to remain focused on the issues they held strengths in rather than veer off into other "lanes." Kelly would strengthen this route by putting a system in place where he would make sure only vetted policy decisions made their way to the President as opposed to simply having unvetted ideas seize influence.

But reports of Kelly being livid originated when he was still a cabinet official, expressing his dissatisfaction with the process at the White House. Politico said that Kelly contacted White House officials wanting to set up a meeting with Trump, to say that the President would have to decide between him as Homeland Security Secretary or Kushner's freelancing efforts over immigration. The Wall Street Journal reported in late September that White House counsel Don McGahn had also threatened to resign, frustrated over the lack of protocols around Kushner. At the time, there were concerns over Kushner drawing attention to himself for the Russia investigation.