Some officials are moving into Washington consulting firms, while others are seeking cover elsewhere.
President Donald Trump is losing senior administration officials at a rapid pace as Republicans brace for a difficult November and GOP staffers look for safer career options ahead of what some expect to be an “Armageddon” election.
With the exception of Trump’s first term, his second administration is on course to record the highest turnover among senior officials of any presidency since Ronald Reagan.
In recent months, the administration has seen the departure of several prominent figures, including Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, White House Counsel David Warrington, Director of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Deputy White House Chief of Staff James Blair. Blair and Leavitt have since joined MAGA Inc., Trump’s political operation.
Since early August, the White House press office has lost one-quarter of its most senior personnel. Three officials have moved into the private sector, while another transferred to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
A further departure at the junior level is expected Friday. Press Assistant Ellie Acra is leaving Washington ahead of her wedding, a White House official told Our News Outlet.
“The original coalition fell apart; there are cracks in the MAHA movement and the anti-war MAGA base,” said one former administration official. “A lot of people don’t like the direction this administration is headed between the Iran war and increasing prices.”
The Trump administration has experienced several senior-level departures in recent months
Former Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced her departure from the administration in August. She is spending more time with her two young children while continuing to work for MAGA Inc., the president’s political firm
Another former aide said staff members feel pressure to earn money now to cover potential legal expenses if investigations follow. “A lot of people are feeling pressure to go to the private sector to make money in case Democrats subpoena them to testify before Congress,” the former aide said.
As of September 30, turnover among Trump’s “A Team”—senior officials in the Executive Office—stood at 56 percent, according to a Brookings Institution analysis.
By comparison, 40 percent of the senior “A Team” officials in President Joe Biden’s administration had left during his first two years, according to Brookings. The figures indicate that Trump’s senior staff is turning over more quickly.
Although Trump’s current turnover rate is on track to surpass that of every president dating back to Reagan, it remains below the level recorded during his previous term. After two years of Trump’s first presidency, 66 percent of his “A Team” had departed.
Another former White House official offered a blunt assessment of conditions inside the West Wing: “Objectively, there have been a lot of senior departures.”
Deputy National Security Adviser and Vice President JD Vance adviser Andy Baker, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, US Pardon Attorney Ed Martin and Legislative Affairs Director James Braid all resigned in August.
Co-Deputy FBI Director Andrew Bailey, senior Trump artificial intelligence and economic adviser Ryan Baasch, and National Economic Council adviser Paige Willey have also recently announced their exits.
“Historically, turnover picks up after the midterms as staff decide if they want to remain for the rest of the term,” a former Biden White House staffer told Our News Outlet. “But this level of turnover before the midterms is rare. And the rate of change among communications staff seems higher than under Biden.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai is moving to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, one of several press office aides to recently announce a departure
Former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has long expressed anti-war views, left the Trump administration in June to support her husband as he undergoes treatment for cancer
Half a dozen current and former administration aides identified the same two forces behind the departures: burnout and a scramble for GOP jobs before Democrats potentially take control of the House.
‘I had no life when I was working at the White House, which is fine. That’s what you sign up for. You can’t do it forever,’ one former official said. ‘There is no break. There is no vacation.’
Aides with kids described leaving before school drop-off and getting home after bedtime. Friday date nights died in memo edits. The only quiet stretch, several said, was the Metro ride home – then dinner, then the inbox again.
‘The White House is just an all-encompassing job. There is no break. There is no, you know, vacation,’ the source added.
Another former White House official noted: ‘We’re making a month’s worth of news every like three days on the job… You are beholden to a million different things outside of your control.’
The job hunt is the other half.
Prediction market Kalshi on Thursday priced Democrats at about 91 percent to win the House and about 62 percent to win the Senate.
Aides hear that as a coming subpoena machine and a smaller market for Republican Hill and lobbying gigs on K Street.
Former White House press aide Pat Adams (left) also recently departed
‘There’s a very real concern that the midterms will not turn out good for Republicans,’ a former administration official said.
Another put it this way: ‘Once November 3 hits, it’s Armageddon, and everyone’s out.’
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Our News Outlet in a statement: ‘President Trump has built the greatest political movement in history, staffing his administration with talented, dedicated patriots who work tirelessly to execute his agenda.
‘This movement is bigger than any one staff member, and the President’s mission to make America greater than ever before will continue unabated.’
With Democrats poised to take control of Congress, some in the administration are preparing for the possibility of being dragged up to Capitol Hill to answer for some of the Trump administration’s most daring policies.
While leaving the administration will not protect them from being served, at least one noted how they want to make enough cash in the private industry before the midterms so they can hire legal counsel in case they need to.
None of the people who spoke to Our News Outlet described their administration years as a mistake.
They called two years a natural break and said it is the same pattern seen under Obama, Biden and Trump’s first term, when only four of 24 original Cabinet secretaries lasted all four years.
‘I think people are leaving early because of concerns around the midterms,’ one former aide said. ‘But ultimately it’s: how can I maximize my job prospects?’
