Donald Trump has confirmed his chief of staff John Kelly will leave his job by the end of the year.

There have been persistent reports for several days that General Kelly was under increasing pressure to go.

Some reports said that the retired Marine Corps general’s relationship with the President had deteriorated and they were no longer on speaking terms.

A replacement would be named “over the next day or two”, Trump told reporters.

He made the announcement as he headed to Philadelphia for an American football match between army and navy teams.

“He’s been with me almost two years now, between two positions,” Trump said. “I appreciate his service very much.”

Kelly’s expected departure means Trump will have had three chiefs of staff and three national security advisers since taking office in January 2017, the BBC’s North America Correspondent Anthony Zurcher says.

In total, 28 people have resigned or been fired from the White House during Trump’s administration.

Vice-President Mike Pence’s chief of staff Nick Ayers is reportedly being lined up as a contender for the chief of staff role.

Earlier this year, Kelly was forced to deny that he had called the President an “idiot” after the quote was included in a book about Trump by the veteran investigative journalist Bob Woodward.

Kelly is said to have used the description repeatedly and also allegedly said that “it’s pointless to try to convince him of anything”.

Trump initially nominated Kelly to oversee Homeland Security before promoting him to chief of staff last July, replacing Reince Priebus.

On Friday, Trump called former secretary of state Rex Tillerson “dumb as a rock” and “lazy as hell” a day after the former diplomat said he had warned the president against doing things that would violate the law.

“Mike Pompeo is doing a great job, I am very proud of him. His predecessor, Rex Tillerson, didn’t have the mental capacity needed. He was dumb as a rock and I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. He was lazy as hell. Now it is a whole new ballgame, great spirit at State!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

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