Nearly a month into his second year in office, President Trump’s Cabinet has been remarkably stable. No Cabinet member has quit, been fired, pushed out or otherwise left the building. The question is whether that is a good thing. A president does not want to let his political enemies hound his top Cabinet officials out of office. On the other hand, by the end of an administration’s first year, it’s usually clear that one, or two or more of the president’s Cabinet just aren’t working out. That is the issue confronting Trump today.
Compare the situation to Trump’s first term. There was a lot of movement, for a variety of reasons. First to leave was White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, who resigned on July 28, 2017, six months into the administration. Then Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly resigned on July 31 to become the new White House chief of staff. Then, on Sept. 29, 2017, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price quit under pressure over spending public money on private travel.
On March 13, 2018, one year and nearly two months into the administration, Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. On March 28, 2018, Trump fired Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin over Shulkin’s use of public funds for a European trip. On April 26, 2018, CIA Director Mike Pompeo left to become the new Secretary of State. On July 5, 2018, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt resigned while under several investigations. And on Nov. 7, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions was pushed out over Trump’s anger about the appointment of a special counsel in the Russia collusion matter.