"Compare that with the pace of turnover in Trump's first term, when he set a modern record for year-one turnover among senior staff. In just the first 12 months of that term, Trump pulled the plug on his chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, national security adviser, chief strategist, communications director (x2), press secretary and Health and Human Services secretary."
"Stability: After a first term plagued by uncertainty and turnover, one of his main objectives in his second term was keeping stability and continuity by installing trusted loyalists instead of GOP political mercenaries. Strength: Caving to public pressure amid a controversy is a sign of weakness, as Trump sees it. He doesn't want to reward Democratic and media opponents with a win."
"Zoom in: Besides Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have all taken turns getting pilloried during highly scrutinized controversies. Trump hasn't flinched. The furthest Trump has gone was removing Waltz from his national security adviser post last May after the Signalgate embarrassment, and nominating him to be UN ambassador. After Pretti was killed, Border Patrol commander-at-large Greg Bovino was reassigned rather than fire"
No Cabinet secretaries or senior White House officials have been fired during Trump's second term, with former national security adviser Mike Waltz moved to U.S. ambassador to the UN after the Signalgate fiasco. Government purges last year targeted Biden administration holdovers and rank-and-file bureaucrats, notably during Elon Musk's DOGE campaign. Trump's first term saw rapid senior-staff turnover, including removals of chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, national security adviser, chief strategist, multiple communications directors, press secretary and HHS secretary within twelve months. The change reflects priorities of stability, projecting strength by not yielding to controversy, and avoiding contentious Senate confirmation fights.
Read at Axios
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