Kelly names Kushner ally deputy chief of staff

White House chief of staff John Kelly has named Chris Liddell his deputy chief of staff for policy, the White House announced Monday.

Liddell previously served as the White House director of strategic initiatives, where he worked closely with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner.

“Chris is widely respected across the administration and is highly qualified to oversee and coordinate our policy process. We look forward to having him in this new role,” Kelly said in a statement.

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The move was first reported by Politico.

Prior to joining the Trump administration during the transition, Liddell worked as an executive at Microsoft and General Motors. He also worked for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012.

Liddell had reportedly been considered a top choice to replace Gary Cohn as the head of the National Economic Council and President Trump’s chief economic adviser.

That job ultimately went to Larry Kudlow. Trump hired the CNBC contributor last week.