President Donald Trump has told aides he wants fewer people working for him in the White House and only loyalists installed in key administration positions, several people familiar with the matter say. Trump’s allies have provided him lists — not always solicited — of people they’ve identified as disloyal and of names they say would work better toward advancing his agenda.
The lists have been generated over the past three years, but some are being dusted off in the post-impeachment purge.
It’s not clear how seriously Trump takes the recommendations. But after hearing for three years from acquaintances and confidants about various people deemed disloyal, his efforts seem to have newfound urgency.
Trump told people recently he wants to take action on removing some people who he’s been “warned about,” according to one person who’s spoken to him.
They are referring to the Axios story I wrote about yesterday. But there’s more:
Trump has honed [sic] in on the size of the federal government, one officials said, insisting there are too many people working for him both at the White House and at outside agencies. Trump has said in recent days that more people with access to sensitive information increases the risk of leaks.
Last week, the National Security Council announced the departure of deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates, who was transferred to the Energy Department. Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, had been leading the charge inside the West Wing that Coates is the author of the book “Anonymous,” according to three people familiar with the situation.
In announcing her departure, the White House strenuously denied that Coates was the anonymous author. Even after the unsubstantiated rumor began circulating inside the West Wing, forcing the book’s publishers to deny Coates was the author, Navarro continued to insist it was her, two people said. “Suspects are everywhere,” Navarro told CNN on Friday, going on to rail against reporting from “so-called senior administration officials.
He just “knows.” Meanwhile:
John McEntee, the President’s former body man who was elevated to run the presidential personnel office, made it clear in a meeting last week with agency officials that his office will be on the lookout for staffers across the bureaucracy who are seen as disloyal to Trump.
Another official said McEntee indicated he plans to first focus his efforts on personnel at the State Department and Defense Department. He also told the liaisons that promotions and significant staff changes should not occur without prior approval from the presidential personnel office.In his role, McEntee focuses on political appointees at various agencies, not career staff. Hiring and firing of career government employees are typically handled at the agency level.
McEntee, you’ll recall, was Trump’s body man and then was fired for being a degenerate gambler. He’s back now to do this dity work for the Big Boss.
One administration official said McEntee indicated his office would spend the next week or two reviewing past processes and how they will change them moving forward. McEntee’s overtures to the Cabinet officials — whose job is to liaise with the White House to ensure agencies are working in concert with the rest of the administration — weren’t universally seen as helpful. “Not a good idea on his part,” one of the White House officials said. “Going to get himself and a lot of people in trouble.”
But some aides and allies have expressed concern about getting qualified people to join the administration in an election year. One White House aide described a sense that some jobs simply won’t be filled or will be filled only temporarily until after the President wins reelection, as high-level hires will likely be reluctant to take posts that at this point may not last longer than eight months.
Ya think? But hey, nothing major is going to happen before then anyway, right? It’s not like there’s any possibility of a global pandemic or a war or anything.
Others have noted the bench of competent people who have also never criticized Trump is virtually nonexistent.
What decent, competent person would want to be a part of this?