Paul Manafort Quits Donald Trump’s Campaign After Tumultuous

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Paul Manafort, installed as the chief strategist for Donald J. Trump’s campaign after the firing of his original campaign manager, handed in his resignation on Friday morning.

Mr. Manafort left nearly a week after a New York Times report about tumult within the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign helped precipitate a shakeup of the campaign’s leadership. His departure reflects repeated efforts to steady a campaign that has been frequently roiled by the behavior of its tempestuous first-time candidate.

Mr. Manafort was also dogged by reports about secretive efforts he made to help the former pro-Russian government in Ukraine, where he has worked on and off over several years. He had also become viewed with trepidation by Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and a major force within the campaign, amid a number of false starts since the Republican National Convention, according to three people briefed on the matter.

“This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,” Mr. Trump said in a statement released by the campaign. “I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.”

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Mr. Manafort was first brought to the campaign in March as Mr. Trump was facing a protracted delegate slog in his effort to capture the Republican nomination. He ended up taking over the campaign two months ago after Mr. Trump’s then-campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, became a distraction to the candidate and his children with a string of high-profile fights.

Mr. Manafort’s deputy, Rick Gates, is expected to remain on the campaign, the sources said. Mr. Manafort’s friends said privately that he urged core staff members who he brought on to remain with the campaign.

Last weekend, Mr. Trump decided to install Stephen K. Bannon as his chief executive officer and Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser, as the new campaign manager. That followed an emergency meeting called after the Times story last Sunday on the frequent and troubled efforts by Mr. Trump’s top advisers to curtail his pugilistic instincts.

Thomas Barrack, the financier and friend of Mr. Trump who helped bring Mr. Manafort into the campaign, expressed regret about the turn of events involving Mr. Manafort.

“I’ve known him since we were in college, he’s a first-class person, he’s an amazing individual and he has been the lead architect in trying to seamlessly put together the institutional side of this campaign,” Mr. Barrack said in a brief interview. “I think the architecture he put together will continue to serve the campaign well, but I’m sorry to see him go.”

After he was initially hired by Mr. Trump, Mr. Manafort helped quash uprisings among delegates that, even if they wouldn’t imperil Mr. Trump’s ability to get the nomination, would have been an embarrassing distraction at the nominating convention.