In his first year back in the White House, President Donald Trump avoided using his famous catchphrase “You’re fired” when referring to members of his Cabinet. But this year plans to have a lot of changes.
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In less than a month, Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi. This upheaval has meant that the president’s desire to show stability to his top management has passed, and there are more changes coming in the near future.
“I expect something in terms of the next few weeks, and the president is combining both reform and restructuring,” said a person directly familiar with Trump’s thinking, who added that they don’t know who might be next.
Of course, nothing is certain, and people in his favor may find themselves out, and vice versa.
From Trump’s previous term. After that, several top administration officials left during his first year in office, including Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, national security adviser Michael Flynn and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.
In this case, some senior administration officials have faced high profile scandals or mistakes, but Trump chose not to remove them.
“The first year, they wanted to avoid the bad optics — the things that come with high-level staff,” said a Trump associate, who, like others in the article, was given the name to speak freely. “That’s over. It looks like he doesn’t care about the idea anymore.”
Among those who have been at the center of public controversy or impropriety are Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, each of whom has received varying degrees of public vilification for personal scandals or decisions made by their organizations.
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Why did President Trump fire Pam Bondi?
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Lutnick was caught up in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, and was forced to explain why he appeared so often in the late sex offender’s files and why he visited his private island. Lutnick said he “had no relationship with her.”
“He’s been sitting on the rocks,” a Trump adviser said of Lutnick’s stance.
The adviser said he no longer likes White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
“I don’t think he’s a big fan,” said a second Trump aide familiar with White House thinking. “That would be a problem if the administration is in a reset mode.”
A White House spokesman said Trump continues to support his administration officials.
“President Trump has the most talented cabinet and team in American history,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. “Patriots like DNI Gabbard, Secretary Lutnick, and Secretary Chavez-DeRemer are tirelessly pursuing the President’s agenda and getting positive results for the American people. They continue to have full confidence in the President.”
Spokesmen for Lutnick, Gabbard and Chavez-DeRemer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Wiles, the two sources said, was a push for the idea that Trump’s first year in office should not be dominated by executive topics, but that calculation for senior officials has changed.
“Susie was trying to block it as long as she could, but once you fire the attorney general, you might as well rip off the Band-Aid on a few others,” a Trump ally said.
Others see the timing — more than a year into the administration — as a natural point of leverage and a sign that Trump is willing to make adjustments when he sees fit.
“It’s been a year and a half, and they’re analyzing what’s working and what’s not,” said a former Trump administration official. “You understand that there are times when you need to make a change.”
“He is a stubborn boss,” added the person. “He always has high expectations.”
Some say if there’s more to change — the president is famous for hosting “The Apprentice,” a show based on evicting contestants — it’s a return to form for Trump.
“Watching the Cabinet right now is like a reality TV show — but it’s not ‘The Apprentice’ like it might be ‘Survivor,'” said Matthew Barlett, a GOP consultant who worked in the Trump administration. “Personal responsibility and public accountability are essential to government work, but these measures seem to affect the president’s credibility and frustration.”
The shakeup ahead of the November election also has the added benefit of some certainty in the Senate, where Republicans control the majority and are more likely to confirm Trump’s nominees. Waiting to bring in new officials until after November puts the Democrats in power at risk, or a narrow margin of Republican control.
Trump announced Noem — who has faced massive backlash and congressional scrutiny over a $220 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign highlighting his immigration deportment — was leaving DHS on social media shortly before he was to deliver the day’s speech at a Nashville event attended by police union members.
A few weeks later, Trump informed Bondi that his time was running out when they were on the road together on the way to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, according to an administration official, but they did not finalize a decision or a timeline for that conversation. It was left open, the official said, and Bondi thought he might still be able to save his job.
The next day, Trump announced that he was fired.
An administration official described the shootings of Noem and Bondi as “totally different circumstances.” Trump had been considering firing Bondi for months, and the decision to fire Noem was quick. Trump told NBC News he was “not happy” with Noem’s performance testifying before Congress in March and the $220 million ad campaign.
Bondi, meanwhile, had lost the trust of Trump and his allies over time over his handling of the Epstein files and the Justice Department’s inability to prosecute the president’s political enemies, as NBC News previously reported.
Trump praised Noem and Bondi after their departure. He moved Noem to another managerial role leading the newly formed Shield of Americas, and called Bondi a “Great American Patriot.” Bondi said he will enter the private sector.
Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Conference, interviewed then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on stage last week in Texas at the group’s annual meeting. That was a few days before Bondi was fired and Blanche became acting attorney general.
Schlapp, in an interview Friday, said he told Blanche early on about criticism that the Justice Department did not do enough to force Joe Biden’s administration to account for what Schlapp called “blatant wrongdoing.”
Blanche told Schlapp that she welcomed “tough questions” and was willing to give “good answers,” Schlapp recalled.
“He certainly knew people were saying, ‘Come on, why are people taking so long'” to prosecute former Biden administration officials, Schlapp told NBC News.
But even with a change in leadership at the Justice Department, prosecutions may not be as successful as Trump would like — coming up with facts, law and evidence that do not support effective criminal prosecutions, according to former federal prosecutors.
Besides Lutnick, another administration official who has faced public problems is Chavez-DeRemer, who heads the Department of Labor. Her husband was denied entry to the headquarters of the Ministry of Labor after allegations of sexually assaulting female employees. The DC police investigation was closed after authorities found no evidence of a crime. Two of his aides have also resigned amid an internal investigation into possible misconduct. Chavez-DeRemer has denied any wrongdoing.
Gabbard, who is running for president as a Democrat in 2020, has also been in the spotlight since the war with Iran because of her long-standing public opposition to “regime change,” including Iran. Last month, one of his top deputies resigned over his opposition to the Iran war.
During a hearing last month before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Gabbard said it was not her job to determine whether Iran was an “imminent threat” to the US, which was one of Trump’s original reasons for the attack.
The potential conflict comes as Republicans try to hold on to minority leaders in the House and Senate during the terms, but it’s unclear how much these changes could affect the election.
“People, especially those in the MAGA movement who follow these things closely, care to some degree,” said a Republican who has been directly involved in several GOP Senate campaigns. “But for the most part, it will still be the economy that drives things. These Cabinet moves are a sign that people react quickly, but they tend to move quickly.”
“This kind of stuff is emotionally high for people right now,” the person added, “but it rarely lasts long.”
