US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has announced his chief of staff John Kelly will  be leaving the administration at the end of the year — the latest in a series of moves by the Republican leader to change his inner circle of aides.

Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, was long rumoured to be on the way out, amid reports that his relationship with the volatile Trump had deteriorated to such an extent they were no longer on speaking terms.

“John Kelly will be leaving at the end of the year,” Trump said before heading to Philadelphia for the Army-Navy football game, adding that a replacement would be named “over the next day or two”.

He called Kelly “a great guy”.

The West Wing shake-up comes as Trump is anticipating the challenge of governing and oversight when Democrats take control of the House in January, and as gears up for his own campaign for re-election in 2020.

More to follow…