President Trump suggested that former chief of staff Susie Wiles would not be the only senior administration official to leave after the Republican Party suffered a bruising defeat in the midterm elections.
In a 60 Minutes interview recorded just hours before Wiles was removed from her post, Trump hinted at a possible shake-up within his Cabinet.
“I do,” Trump told correspondent Ross Douthat when asked whether he planned to dismiss members of his team after Republicans lost their majorities in the House and Senate, according to a clip released Friday night.
“A little bit,” Trump added. “I love my Cabinet. I think they’re good, but I’ll be making maybe a few changes.”
“I don’t want to mention who.”
The full interview is scheduled to air Sunday. It was recorded Friday morning.
Later that afternoon, Trump announced on Truth Social that Wiles would be replaced by longtime adviser Stephen Miller, effective Monday.
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“Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!” the president wrote.
During the 60 Minutes interview, Trump was also asked whether he still had confidence in War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who could face an impeachment vote when the House returns next week.
“I do,” Trump said. “Look, we’ve won two wars. We’ve won Venezuela and taken out billions and billions and billions of dollars already, and we will be taking out many billions of dollars … we won that war in less than one hour.”
Asked whether he credited Hegseth for the successful Venezuela operation, Trump replied: “No, but he was a part of it.”
Lawmakers from both parties have raised questions about the Pentagon chief’s leadership and judgment ahead of the possible impeachment vote.
Earlier this week, Hegseth ruled out stepping down voluntarily.
“Just like the president. We don’t back down. And that especially applies now,” Hegseth said in a nearly six-minute video message released Thursday.
