The list of cabinet members and top advisers Donald Trump isn’t thinking of firing is starting to look shorter than the list of people on the chopping block. First up, Trump has reportedly decided to replace national security adviser H.R. McMaster, though he’s been talked into being generous and not planning to do it by tweet:
Trump is now comfortable with ousting McMaster, with whom he never personally gelled, but is willing to take time executing the move because he wants to ensure both that the three-star Army general is not humiliated and that there is a strong successor lined up, these people said. [...]
Some in the White House have been reluctant to oust McMaster from his national security perch until he has a promotion to four-star rank or other comfortable landing spot. They are eager to show that someone can serve in the Trump administration without suffering severe damage to their reputation.
Although Sarah Huckabee Sanders pushed back on these reports in a Thursday night tweet, reporters from multiple publications have sources confirming that McMaster is on his way out.
The list of other top officials Trump isn’t happy with reportedly includes Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos—all but DeVos having drawn attention for their lavish spending. And of course, Trump has been lashing out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions for nearly a year. In fact, Pruitt has been angling for Sessions’s job, though said angling probably isn’t strengthening his position.
Kelly and Shulkin are most often cited as being on the firing list with McMaster, but whatever specific names are on the list, the source of the speculation is Trump’s desire for chaos and infighting and asserting himself in dramatic ways. He seems to believe that drama is the way to show strength:
In private conversations in recent weeks with aides and friends, Trump has reflected on his desire to reshape the administration. Though the drumbeat of the ongoing Russia probe has only grown louder, the president believes that his recent decisions on tariffs and North Korea have breathed new life into his administration, and he is eager to take more “bold steps” that make his own mark. He has told confidants he wants to rid himself of staffers who hold him back.
So who’s safe? Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is reportedly hanging on in Trump’s good books, and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney is in such good stead that he’s often mentioned as a possible replacement for Kelly as chief of staff. Then there’s current CIA director and Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo, who has apparently worked hard to have a personal relationship with Trump, an effort that paid off this week.
In short: chaos driven by a giant blustering ignorant ego. It’s like Trump is an animal that’s gained a taste for blood.