Trump Considering Chris Christie For Chief Of Staff, Reports Say

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie may finally land himself a job in the Trump administration after all. And it's a big one.

President Donald Trump is considering replacing John Kelly with Christie as his chief of staff, according to reports. A source close to the White House told CNN that Christie is considered a "strong option" at this point, adding Trump wants "a functioning White House."

Indeed, The Washington Post listed Christie among a small group of conteders for the position along with David N. Bossie, Trump’s former deputy campaign manager; White House counselor Kellyanne Conway; Energy Secretary Rick Perry, a former Texas governor; Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania; and Wayne Berman, an executive at the investment firm Blackstone.

Several contenders for the position have reportedly either turned down the job to replace Kelly, who will leave the position at the end of the year, or they've sent a signal that they're not interested. Nick Ayers, the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, was reportedly one of those people.

Christie, who was believed to be destined for a position in the Trump administration but was eventually rebuffed last year, has said nothing publicly about the reports. Efforts to obtain comment from the former governor were not immediately successful.

Last month, Trump was reportedly considering naming Christie to replace the outsted Attoney General Jeff Sessions. Two sources told CBS News that Christie was on the list of those being considered along with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, outgoing Florida Attorney General Pam Bond and former Attorney General William Barr, who served under President George H. W. Bush.

At the time, speculation arose that Trump was courting the former governor after Christie attended a previously scheduled law enforcement roundtable on prison reform efforts at the White House. He then met privately with Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, according to CNN.

Christie and Kushner have reportedly been odds for some time, particularly since the former governor prosecuted his father a decade ago when he was US attorney for New Jersey. The feud allegedly played a role in Trump's decision to not pick Christie for vice president.

It's been anybody's guess whether Christie has had any real shot of eventually landing a job in the administration and whether he really wants to take one. Last year, an NJ Advance Media report said Trump had offered Christie at least three positions in his new administration. But he turned them all down.

Those jobs included Homeland Security secretary and Veterans Affairs secretary, as well as U.S. ambassador to Italy, according to the report.

Initially, Christie reportedly really wanted to become US attorney general — which was awarded to then Alabama Sen. Sessions. Then he strongly pushed for chairman of the Republican National Committee, but he didn't get that, either.

In a Wall Street Journal report last year, Trump offered hope for Christie that he could leave New Jersey before his term expired, and where his approval rating was at a historically low 18 percent.

"There are a lot of positions, and the positions come up again. Because when they're filled, somebody stays for eight years, somebody stays for two years, you never know. But we'll be involved with Chris. Chris is a friend of mine. Chris is a great guy," Trump told the Journal.

Christie has long been dogged by the "Bridgegate" George Washington Bridge lane-closing political payback scheme. Christie also lost his job as Trump's transition chairman in November 2016 after some of his appointments drew criticism from people outside and inside Trump's inner circle

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