Dec 14, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Chris Christie tells Trump he doesn't want to be chief of staff

Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.

Chris Christie said Friday that he told President Trump he doesn't want to be considered to replace John Kelly as White House chief of staff, per the New York Times' Maggie Haberman, who obtained a copy of his statement.

“It’s an honor to have the president consider me as he looks to choose a new White House chief-of-staff. However, I’ve told the president that now is not the right time for me or my family to undertake this serious assignment. As a result, I have asked not to be considered for this post.”
— Chris Christie

The backdrop: President Trump, who considered Christie a top contender to replace John Kelly as chief of staff, discussed the job with Christie Thursday night, a source familiar with the president’s thinking told Axios' Jonathan Swan.

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13 members of St. Louis Cardinals test positive for coronavirus

Photo: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

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Why it matters: Seven consecutive Cardinals games have now been canceled after St. Louis became the second team to report a significant coronavirus outbreak, just two weeks into the season.

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White House adviser Peter Navarro talks TikTok

President Trump has relaxed his threat to immediately ban the popular social media app TikTok, giving Microsoft room to negotiate an acquisition from Chinese tech giant ByteDance.

Axios Re:Cap digs into the situation with Peter Navarro, the White House's top trade adviser and a noted China hawk, who suggests Microsoft should be forced to make unrelated concessions related to its China operations.