WASHINGTON — White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is expected to quit as soon as this year because he’s fed up with the “idealism” of President Obama’s inner circle, a British newspaper reported early today.
“I would bet he will go after the midterms,” a Democratic consultant told the Telegraph. “Nobody thinks it’s working, but they can’t get rid of him — that would look awful.”
The consultant added that Emanuel is trying to line up the right job offer to explain his departure, but “the consensus is he’ll go.”
Speculation in Washington has been building for months about divisions between Emanuel and other Obama confidantes.
Emanuel, who has more experience on Capitol Hill than anybody in the White House, has embraced tough tactics balanced by realistic compromise.
But others in the administration have urged the use of the president’s soaring oratory to break through the gridlock to win major victories in their agenda.
Both strategies have largely failed, leaving Obama with only half the health-care initiative he wanted, ballooning debt, and a record-low approval ratings.
Emanuel, whose bare-knuckle politics earned him the nickname “Rhambo” when he worked in the Clinton White House, is expected to step down in six to eight months, the paper said.
Despite his good relationship with Obama, Emanuel and the president have come to an understanding that their starkly different styles don’t work together, sources said.
Their closest advisers are known to have clashed — including butting heads over health-care reform — and Emanuel’s rough style has caused friction.
“Democrats have not stood behind the president in the way Republicans did for George W. Bush, and that was meant to be Rahm’s job,” the consultant told the Telegraph.
In response to the report, a senior White House official told Fox News Channel the “ludicrous” story was “not worth looking into.”