Every Person Who Resigned or Was Fired From the Trump Administration
On Thursday, amid reports of his involvement in Trump’s conversation with the Ukrainian president, Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced that he would step down by the end of this year; This news comes just a week after Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAlinan also stepped down, which got us thinking: How many other aides and cabinet members have resigned while serving under President Trump?
Well, a lot. The Trump cabinet likely has a higher turnover rate than any other U.S. president in history. If you need to take stock, below is a timeline of several major deviations during the Trump administration, starting with the departure of the most recent politicians.
Rick Perry
Role: Minister of Energy. Date: Retired October 2019 (although it is not known when he will officially retire). Reason Reported: Unclear, although Trump responded to his resignation by stating Perry had ” very big plans .”
Kevin McAlinan
Role: Acting Secretary of Homeland Security. Date: Retired October 2019. Reported cause: ” Personal and family reasons .”
John Bolton
Role: National Security Advisor Date: Fired September 2019. Reason reported: “I strongly disagree with many of his proposals, as do other members of the administration,” Trump tweeted , “and so I asked John to resign, which was given. me this morning. “
Jason Greene
Role: Special Envoy for the Middle East. Date: Retired September 2019. Reason reported: Will return to New Jersey to spend time with family.
Dan Coates
Role: Chief of Intelligence Date: resigned in August 2019 (although rumors circulated that he would leave earlier) . Reported reason: unclear. “As we discussed earlier, I believe it is time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life,” Coates wrote in his resignation letter to the president.
Alex Acosta
Role: Minister of Labor Date: resigned in July 2019. Reported Cause : According to a tweet, President Trump said Acosta had resigned due to ongoing controversy over how Acosta investigated Jeffrey Epstein in 2008. “He felt the constant drumming of the press about the prosecution. what happened under his control more than 12 years ago was bad for the administration in which he so firmly believes, and he kindly resigned … “, – wrote Trump .
Mercedes Schlapp
Role: White House Communications Director Date: Retired July 2019. Cause Reported: Joined Trump’s re-election campaign .
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Role: White House press secretary. Date: Retired June 2019. Cause Reported: Unclear, but during the White House event , she did not rule out a political career in her home state of Arkansas. On Twitter, Trump also urged her to run for governor.
Patrick Shanahan
Role: Acting Minister of Defense. Date: Withdrawn from confirmation in June 2019. Stated reason: In June , the Washington Post reported a November 2011 dispute in which Shanahan’s son brutally attacked the defense minister’s ex-wife. “Since I was confirmed as Deputy Secretary of State less than two years ago, it is a pity that a painful and deeply personal family situation that arose in ancient times is being exposed and painted incompletely and therefore in a misleading way during this process”, – Shanahan wrote in his letter of resignation . “I believe my continuing the confirmation process will cause my three children to relive a traumatic chapter in our family’s life and rediscover the wounds we have worked to heal for years.”
Shahira knight
Role: White House Legislative Director Date: Resigned May 2019. Reason reported: Trump hinted in a tweet that she would step down to work in the “private sector.” (It was later revealed to be a bank lobbying group. )
Rod J. Rosenstein
Role: Deputy Attorney General. Date: Retired May 2019. Reason reported: unclear, although Trump allegedly expressed a desire to be removed from office back in January 2018; Trump was disappointed with his oversight of the Russian investigation, according to CNN .
Randolph D. Alles
Role: Director of the Secret Service. Date: Resigned April 2019. Reason reported: Unclear. He also contested the argument about the fact that he was fired.
Kirsten Nielsen
Role: Secretary of Homeland Security Date: Resigned March-April 2019. Reason reported: Unclear. “… I decided now was the right time for me to step aside. “
Heather Wilson
Role: Secretary of the Air Force. Date: Retired March 2019. Report: Became President of the University of Texas at El Paso .
Bill Shine
Role: White House Communications Director Date: Resigned March 2019. Cause Reported: Became Trump ‘s senior re-election advisor.
Linda McMahon
Role: Small Business Administrator. Date: Retired March 2019. Reason Reported: Became chairman of Trump-backed America First Action PAC.
Scott Gottlieb
Role: FDA chief. Date: Retired March 2019. Reason Reported: Unclear, although personal reasons may have contributed .
Brock Long
Role: FEMA Administrator. Date: Retired February-March 2019. Reason reported: Unclear, although Long resigned after facing criticism over his personal use of government vehicles. In a statement to the Washington Post, a FEMA spokesman disputes this as the reason for his departure. “To be honest, this has nothing to do with the travel issue,” they said. “He was away from his family for a long time. And he chose this moment to make sure the new administrator had enough time to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season before it kicked off. ”
Raj Shah
Role: Deputy Press Secretary of the White House. Date: Retired January 2019. Reason Reported: Joined a lobbying firm .
Zachary Fuentes
Position: Deputy Chief of Staff. Date: Retired January 2019. Reason reported: Unclear. (A December 2018 New York Times article also reported that Fuentes tried to take advantage of the early retirement program and stay in pay after he retired.)
Justin Clarke
Role: Director of the Public Relations Department. Date: Retired December 2018. Stated reason: Joined Trump’s re-election campaign .
Ryan Zinke
Role: Minister of the Interior Date: Resigned in December 2018. Reason reported: During his tenure as Interior Minister, Zinke faced several charges of illegal personal business transactions. “I love working for the president and I’m incredibly proud of the good work we’ve done together,” Zinke said in his resignation letter. “However, after 30 years of public service, I cannot justify spending thousands of dollars to protect myself and my family from false accusations.”
James Mattis
Role: Secretary of Defense Date: Resigned December 2018 Reason Reported: “Since you have the right to have a Defense Secretary whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other issues, I believe it is right to resign. from my position. ” (Mattis reportedly resigned to protest Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria .)
Nick Ayers
Role: Chief of Staff for Vice President Mike Pence. Date: Retired December 2018. Reason reported: Unclear. (He also reportedly turned down an offer to become Trump’s chief of staff .
Jordan Karem
Role: Director of Operations for the Oval Office. Date: Retired November-December 2018. Reason reported: Unclear.
Jeff Sessions
Role: Attorney General. Date: “Retired” November 2018. The stated reason: because Trump asked him to resign. Prior to his retirement, Trump has repeatedly criticized Sessions in several public forums, including Twitter . In particular, in several tweets, he hinted that Sessions’ refusal to investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections was ” treason ” and accused him of continuing the investigation.
Mira Ricardel
Role: Deputy Adviser to the National Security Council. Date: Fired November 2018. Reason reported: Unclear, although spokesman for First Lady Melania Trump has publicly called for her to be fired.
Don McGan
Role: White House advisor. Date: Retired October 2018. Reason reported: Unclear. However, in a tweet in May 2019 , Trump said he was “never a big fan” of McGun, due to his involvement as a witness in the Robert Mueller investigation .
Nikki Haley
Role: UN Ambassador. Date: Retired October 2018. Reason reported : Trump said at a press conference that Hayley wanted to take a “little break.”
Scott Pruitt
Role: Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Date: Retired July 2018 Reason Reported: Prior to retirement, Pruitt was criticized on several ethical charges. In his resignation letter, Pruitt said these investigations forced him to resign. “… the ruthless attacks on me personally, on my family, are unprecedented and have caused tangible damage to all of us,” he wrote.
Mark Short
Role: White House Legislative Director. Date: Retired July 2018. Reason reported: Joined a consulting firm . He has since returned to the White House as Chief of Staff for Vice President Mike Pence.
Joseph Hagin
Role: Deputy Head of Administration. Date: Retired June 2018. Reason reported: White House officials told the New York Times that he plans to step down from the federal government and “return to the private sector.”
Tom Homan
Role: Acting Director of I.CE Date: Retired June 2018. Reported Cause: Retirement .
Ty Cobb
Role: Special Advisor to the White House. Date: Retired May 2018. Reason Reported: “Ty Cobb has been discussing his retirement for several weeks, and last week he told Chief of Staff [John] Kelly that he would retire later this month, ” Sanders said in an interview. statement about Cobb’s departure.
Mike Pompeo
Role: Director of the CIA. Date: left in April-May 2018. Reason reported: Appointed Secretary of State .
Ricky Waddell
Role: Deputy National Security Advisor. Date: Retired April 2018. Reason reported: Unclear, although he was the fourth National Security Council official to leave since John Bolton came to power .
Nadia Shadlow
Role: Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy. Date: Retired April 2018. Reason Reported: Unclear, although she was another National Security Council official who left when John Bolton came to power.
Thomas P. Bossert
Role: Internal Security Advisor. Date: Retired April 2018. Reason reported: Unclear. He was another National Security Council official who left when John Bolton came to power.
Michael Anton
Role: spokesman for the National Security Council. Date: Retired April 2018. Reason reported: Unclear. He was another National Security Council official who left when John Bolton came to power.
Hope Hicks
Role: White House Communications Director Date: Resigned March 2018. Reason reported: Unclear, although Maggie Haberman of The New York Times said she planned to leave for several months (despite only serving as chief communications officer for six months).
David Shulkin
Role: Secretary for Veterans Affairs Date: Fired March 2018 (Shulkin claims he was fired and the White House claims he resigned). Reason Claimed : Shulkin claims it was because of his opposition to the privatization of the Office of Veterans Affairs.
Rex Tillerson
Role: Secretary of State Date: Fired March 2018. Reason reported: According to the senior aide, Trump “thought this was the right time to move on to the upcoming North Korea talks and various trade talks.”
HR McMaster
Role: National Security Advisor. Date: Resigned March 2018. Reason reported: According to a White House spokesman , McMaster’s departure was conceived by both himself and Trump and “was not associated with a single moment or incident; rather, it was the result of ongoing conversations between them. ” John Bolton replaced him shortly thereafter.
Rick Dearborn
Role: Deputy Chief of Staff of the White House. Date: Retired March 2018. Reason reported: Joined a consulting firm .
Andrew McCabe
Role: FBI Director. Date: Fired March 2018. Reason Reported: Claims it was ” retaliation ” by President Trump and has since filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department. “It was Trump’s unconstitutional plan and scheme to discredit and fire Department of Justice and FBI employees who were considered his party opponents because they were not politically loyal to him,” his lawsuit says.
John McAnty
Role: personal assistant. Date: Fired March 2018. Reason reported: Was under investigation by the Ministry of National Security on suspicion of financial crimes.
Gary Cohn
Role: Director of the White House National Economic Council Date: resigned in March 2018. Reason Reported: Unclear, although Cohn’s resistance to tough tariffs (which Trump advocated) may have contributed to this.
Rachel Brand
Role: Deputy Attorney General. Date: Retired February 2018. Reason reported: Joined Walmart management .
Rob Porter
Role: White House Secretary of State. Date: Retired February 2018. Reason reported: Unclear, although he resigned a day after being accused of mistreatment by two of his ex-wives.
Josh Raffel
Role: Deputy Director of Public Relations. Date: Retired February 2018. Reported reason: “Family commitments” and plans to return to the private sector, as noted by the Washington Post .
David Sorensen
Role: White House speechwriter. Date: Retired February 2018. Reason Reported: Unclear, but resigned shortly after being accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife. (He denied these claims.)
Jeremy Katz
Role: Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council Date: Resigned in January 2018. Reason reported: In a Washington Post report, the official claimed that he intended to remain in office for only a year.
Brenda Fitzgerald
Role: Director of CDC. Date: Retired January 2018. Reason Reported: Unclear, although she resigned a day after a Politico report, which said she traded tobacco stocks promoting anti-smoking measures as director of the CDC.
Omarosa Manigo Newman
Role: Director of Public Relations, Office of Public Relations. Date: Fired December 2017. Reason Reported: Unclear, although in the Politico article, officials claim it was due to her abuse of a White House car service.
Dina Powell
Role: Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy. Date: Retired December 2017. Reason Reported: Sanders stated that she only planned to hold this position for one year.
Kate Schiller
Role: Director of Operations for the Oval Office. Date: Retired September 2017. Reason Reported: Sources told CNN about “income problems.” John Kelly’s appointment as chief of staff may have played a role as well.
Tom Price
Role: Minister of Health and Human Services. Date: Retired September 2017. Reason reported: Prior to his resignation, Trump was “ unhappy ” with Price for using private flights for business purposes. “I am sorry that recent events have distracted me from these important goals,” Price wrote in his resignation letter . “Success in these matters is more important than any person. In order for you to move forward without further disruption, I am officially submitting my resignation letter … “
Stephen Bannon
Role: chief strategist. Date: Retired August 2017. Reported reason: Unclear, although according to CNN , the layoff was planned due to growing tensions between the president and Bannon (as well as the recent arrival of John Kelly at the White House).
George Sifakis
Role: Director of Public Relations Department. Date: Retired August 2017. Reason reported: Unclear.
Carl Icahn
Role: Special Advisor. Date: Retired August 2017. Reason reported: Potential conflict of interest issues arose prior to his resignation. In his resignation letter, Icahn clarified that he “had no official position” with the Trump administration. “However, I decided to end this arrangement (with your blessing) because I didn’t want guerrilla disputes about my role …” he wrote.
Sebastian Gorka
Role: Assistant Deputy Date: “Retired” August 2017 (although White House officials say he was forced to leave). Reported reason: In a “resignation letter” received by the federalist , Gorka was allegedly unhappy with the Trump administration’s foreign policy. “Unfortunately, apart from yourself, the people who most embodied and represented the policies that will ‘make America great again’ have been subject to internal opposition, systematic elimination or undermining in the last month,” he wrote.
Anthony Scaramucci
Role: Director of Communications, White House. Date: Fired July 2017. Reason Reported: John Kelly , then Chief of Staff, forced him to resign.
Sean Spicer
Role: White House press secretary. Date: Retired July 2017. Cause Reported: Apparently due to a disagreement with President Trump over Scaramucci’s hiring.
John Kelly
Role: Secretary of Homeland Security Date : Left July 2017. Reason reported: Appointed Chief of Staff of the White House . (He later resigned from this position in December 2018. )
Raines Priebus
Role: Chief of Staff of the White House. Date: Fired July 2017. Reason Reported: In an article published by the New York Times , White House officials said President Trump wanted to make changes. “The president has the right to change direction,” Priebus told CNN later in an interview . “The President has the right to press the reset button. I think now is the time to hit the reset button. “
Walter Schaub
Role: Director of Public Ethics. Date: Retired July 2017. Reason reported: Became a lawyer at the Campaign Legal Center . In a statement to NPR, he said the ethics program must be “stronger.”
Michael Dubke
Role: Director of Communications, White House. Date: Resigned June 2017. Reason reported: ” Personal reasons .”
Josh Pitcock
Role: Chief of Staff for Vice President Mike Pence. Date: Retired July 2017. Reason Reported: It is unclear, although in a New York Times article, people close to Pitcock argue that he did not intend to remain in office “beyond the summer.”
James Comey
Role: FBI Director. Date: Fired May 2017. Reason reported: In a letter of resignation written by Trump , he claimed that it was done at the request of both the attorney general and the deputy attorney general. (According to Mueller’s report , Trump was allegedly disappointed with the way Comey conducted his investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails and the Russian investigation.)
C. T. McFarland
Role: Deputy National Security Advisor. Date: “Resigned” in April 2017. Reason Reported: Allegedly asked to resign and offered the role of US Ambassador to Singapore. (In February 2018, she withdrew her candidacy because the Senate had not put her to a vote.)
Vivek Murthy
Role: Chief Surgeon Date: “Retired” April 2017. Cause Reported: The Trump administration has asked for resignation. (Murthy was also nominated by Obama.)
Katie Walsh
Role: Deputy Head of Administration. Date: Resigned March 2017. Reason Reported: Became an advisor to a group of Trump supporters.
Michael Flynn
Role: National Security Advisor. Date: Resigned in February 2017. Reason reported: Trump said he fired Flynn “because he lied” to the FBI during talks he had with the Russian ambassador.
Sally Yates
Role: Deputy Attorney General Date: Dismissed January 2017. Reason reported: Waiver of travel ban protection. “RS. Yates is the Obama administration-appointed who is weak at borders and very weak with regard to illegal immigration,” the White House said in a statement . is not excessive. Defending our country is wise and necessary. “