Newt Gingrich meets with Trump to discuss Kelly replacement -- as rumors swirl that he may take the job

Newt Gingrich has reportedly moved to the top of the dwindling list to replace White House chief of staff John Kelly.

The former House Speaker visited the White House on Wednesday, where he told a reporter from the conservative Daily Signal he was advising President Donald Trump on a replacement for Kelly, whose last day on the job is expected to be Dec. 31.

The president spent most of the day in his executive residence meeting with friends and senior aides about dozens of candidates for chief of staff, according to the Washington Post.

Trump stayed mostly silent on Twitter and arrived for work in the West Wing around noon, as his longtime attorney and fixer Michael Cohen was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison after implicating his old boss in campaign finance violations.

Gingrich at first claimed he had visited the White House to see the Christmas decorations, but later said he'd been meeting with Trump about the search for Kelly's replacement.

His name has been floated as a potential replacement by conservative media outlets, but Gingrich told an Atlantic reporter that he was not interested in the job.