Posted on 10/18/2018 1:30:18 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton got into a heated, profanity-laced shouting match outside the Oval Office on Thursday, according to multiple reports.
CNN reported that the two men clashed over immigration policy in the wake of a government report that found a record number of migrant families illegally crossed the U.S. border in September.
Bloomberg reported that the incident led some White House aides to wonder whether one of the senior officials might immediately resign in anger.
Neither individual is expected to resign, however, and President Trump is aware of the dispute, Bloomberg added.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill about the reported encounter.
The incident Thursday underscored continued portraits of a White House rife with turmoil and infighting.
Kelly has been subject to numerous reports that indicate his relationship with Trump has frayed, though he has remained on the job for more than 14 months and the president recently invited a reporter into the Oval Office to discuss his support for his chief of staff.
Bolton is relatively new within the administration, having taken over as national security adviser in April.
The Department of Homeland Security data published earlier this week showed 16,658 family members were arrested by Border Patrol agents last month. It was the highest one-month total on record and an 80 percent increase from July.
The Trump administration has pushed immigration enforcement as a key issue, and stirred controversy when it initiated a "zero tolerance" policy earlier this year that led to the separation of thousands of migrant families at the border.
In an interview broadcast Sunday, Trump refused to rule out re-instituting the practice of family separation.
In recent days, the president has turned his attention to a so-called "caravan" of migrants making their way toward Mexico and the U.S. from Central America. The group is said to have swelled to around 4,000, with many of its members seeking asylum.
Trump has threatened to cut off aid to Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala if those countries do not prevent their citizens from heading to the U.S., and has suggested he may deploy the U.S. military to the southern border to stop migrants from entering.
who’s leaking this sh*t?
Like no two cabinet members have EVER had a heated and profane argument EVER before in ANY other administration in history. Sheeesh.
Personally, I’d like to see President Trump deploy an entire division from all branches of the military to the border and basically put it out there that if you cross the boarder, it’s bombs away. Too bad, so sad, you were forewarned.
“...according to multiple reports.”
What exactly were they arguing about? Who wanted to seal the border, and who wants it wide open?
So, some anonymous source said it twice?
Has the MSM debunked this story? No? Well it must be true.
Who was supposed to pick up the tab at lunch
They supposedly had a shouting match, but no report as to what stance on the border issue either man took?
The NPCmedia has said this, so it must be true.
And atty General Robert Kennedy never got into it with fib director j Edgar Hoover?
Robert Kennedy and LBJ got along famously :)
Wow. Advisors disagree forcefully. Shocking.
“I’d like to think somebody in the WH is upset about the mob that is approaching our border. “
#MeToo...the statements out of DHS have been pathetic.
The White House needs to do a barium meal test to find the leaker or leakers and remove them.
Two highly capable, successful, accomplished, strong-willed individuals . . . would be surprising to me if there WEREN’T heated clashes fairly often.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.