A long-awaited shake-up at the top levels of the White House and administration is underway. President Trump is rearranging his chessboard as the legal threats around him grow and as his allies prepare for a brutal campaign cycle. The biggest headline from a busy weekend: Chief of staff John Kelly will be gone by the end of the year. The president does not have a replacement in line at the moment. Here's a rundown of who's in, who's out, and who's taking on new roles: At the White House > In the end, Kelly, a four-star retired Marine Corps general who was brought on to instill discipline in a chaotic West Wing, fell out of favor with the president. Trump thought he might replace Kelly with Vice President Pence's chief of staff Nick Ayers, the 36 year-old wunderkind with a reputation as a sharp-elbowed political animal. But The Hill's Jordan Fabian and Brett Samuels report that Ayers took himself out of consideration on Sunday after he couldn't come to an agreement with Trump about the terms of his service. The president was seeking a long-term commitment from Ayers, who has decided instead to return to his home state of Georgia with his wife and children. Ayers will run a pro-Trump Super PAC. 
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That leaves the president at square one with the clock ticking down to Kelly's departure. 
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One name Trump is throwing around? House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), according to Axios. Meadows is a loyal Trump ally who would bring much-needed congressional experience to the West Wing. But remember, Meadows will be in the minority next year and someone else will be chairman of the Freedom Caucus. Another possibility to replace Kelly: Former Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), who heads the Office of Management and Budget. The Associated Press: Trump looking at several candidates for chief of staff. Bradley Blakeman: Trump needs a political chief of staff with eye on 2020. > White House political director Bill Stepien and Justin Clark, the director of the office of public liaison, will leave to join Trump's 2020 reelection campaign. Deputy White House political director Brian Jack is expected to replace Stepien, who kept a low profile at the White House. In addition, GOP Whip Steve Scalise's (R-La.) floor director Ben Howard started on Friday as deputy assistant to the president for legislative affairs. > Pat Cipollone is now White House counsel, which might be the most difficult job in Washington at the moment. Cipollone, who replaced Don McGahn, will deal with special counsel Robert Mueller and House Democrats, who are preparing a blizzard of investigations when they control the majority in January. Within the Administration > The president has tapped William Barr to replace Jeff Sessions as attorney general. Barr, 68, had this job before, albeit in a very different Washington under former President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. Expect senators from both parties to grill Barr at his confirmation hearing on his views of the special counsel investigation. They'll be seeking a commitment from Barr to let Mueller finish his work, as pressure mounts on Senate Republicans to vote on a bill to protect the investigation. The Hill: Five things to know about Barr. > State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, a former Fox News anchor, is nominated to succeed Nikki Haley as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. That was a Cabinet-level position for Haley, but will not be for Nauert. > Shortly before attending the Army-Navy football game on Saturday, Trump announced that he would nominate Army chief of staff Gen. Mark Milley to become the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If confirmed, Milley would succeed Gen. Joseph Dunford as the nation's highest-ranking uniformed officer. | 
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