
Just when one thought that this week couldn’t become any more chaotic in Washington, DC—with President Donald Trump deciding to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and threatening a shutdown of the federal government if Congress won’t fund his U.S./Mexico border wall—a major bombshell dropped Thursday afternoon when James Mattis announced his resignation as secretary of defense.
Mattis’ departure is worrying Republicans and Democrats alike, as the retired marine general was widely regarded as a stabilizing force in the chaotic Trump era. But Mattis is hardly the only key figure to either resign or be fired from the Trump administration. Ever since Trump was sworn in as president in January 2017, his presidency has been characterized by chaos and instability.
Here are five of the firings or resignations that, in 2018, have underscored the chaotic nature of Trump’s presidency.
1. Jeff Sessions
Democrats have criticized Jeff Sessions vehemently over the years, and when Trump nominated the Alabama Republican for attorney general in 2017, it was obvious that the president was catering to the far right. But Trump’s relationship with Sessions quickly went sour after Special Counsel Robert Mueller launched his Russiagate probe. By recusing himself from Mueller’s investigation, Sessions showed that he had some integrity—and pro-Mueller Democrats hoped Sessions would stay on as attorney general. Trump, however, was furious, repeatedly attacking Sessions on Twitter. And right after the 2018 midterms, Trump fired Sessions and appointed loyalist Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general.
2. Rex Tillerson
When Trump picked Rex Tillerson to serve as secretary of state in his administration, he was full of enthusiasm. Trump is a major proponent of fossil fuels, and Tillerson had been the CEO of Exxon Mobile. But Trump’s relationship with Tillerson soured in a big way. Tillerson was totally frustrated by Trump’s management style and has complained that he “doesn’t like to read, doesn’t read briefing reports, doesn’t like to get into the details of a lot of things.”
In March 2018, Trump fired Tillerson—and Trump (who replaced him with Mike Pompeo) went from praising the former Exxon Mobile CD as intellectually brilliant to insulting and defaming him. In a December 7 tweet, Trump posted, “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.”
3. Don McGahn
In contrast to President Barack Obama—who paid close attention to what his advisors had to say—Trump prefers to be surrounded by sycophants and yes-men. But Don McGahn, former White House counsel, had a mind of his own—much to Trump’s dismay. When Trump asked McGahn to fire Mueller in June 2017, he refused and threatened to resign. And McGahn also refused when Trump wanted him to urge the Justice Department to prosecute Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey (who Trump fired). In fact, McGahn had Justice Department officials write a memo warning Trump that if he asked law enforcement to investigate his rivals, he might be at risk for impeachment.
After McGahn’s departure in October, he was replaced by Pat Cipollone.
4. John Kelly
John Kelly became the Trump Administration’s second chief of staff in July 2017 after Reince Priebus was ousted. Although Kelly lasted for well over a year in that position, he had a hard time dealing with Trump’s management style and found him to be erratic and undisciplined—which was also a problem that Tillerson and McGahn had with the president. Kelly will be leaving by the end of the year, and Mick Mulvaney (director of the Office of Management and Budget) will take over as acting White House chief of staff in early 2019.
5. Ryan Zinke
Plagued by corruption charges, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced his resignation from the Trump Administration on December 15—and like Kelly, he will be gone by 2019. But Trump has not been insulting Zinke the way he has been insulting Sessions and Tillerson. On December 15, Trump tweeted, “Ryan has accomplished much during his tenure and I want to thank him for his service to our Nation.” Those who have been mentioned as possible replacements for Zinke range from Sen. Dean Heller (who was voted out of office in the 2018 midterms) to Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador.
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News Today: Here's how these 5 major Trump officials exposed the increasing chaos in the administration — by leaving in disgrace
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