US: Out of all the President’s men (and women), 11 are out already!
Ever since Donald Trump commenced office, the trail of appointments and sacking has become a never-ending process. The latest officer to suffer the ire of this relatively new administration is White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.
Bannon was in office from January 20, 2017 and got fired on Friday, and just hours after his ouster, Breitbart News announced that he was back with them at the post of executive chairman.
The former Trump adviser left Breitbart in 2016 to join Trump's presidential campaign. The 63-year-old helped shape the "America First" campaign message but has been accused of voicing anti-Semitic and white supremacist views. After his sacking, Bannon said that he feels "jacked up" and is preparing for a fight for the agenda that won Trump the election. "I've got my hands back on my weapons," he said.
Going back in time, it all started with the dismissal of Sally Yates who was the Attorney General of the United States appointed by Barack Obama and was asked to leave by Trump on January 30, 2017, within 10 days of her appointment. Fifty-Six year-old Sally Yates was sacked for not defending the order, saying that she was not convinced that it was lawful to ban travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries to US.
Talking about the sudden sacking, Yates once shared that some official from the Justice Department handed over her a letter where it was mentioned," I’m informing you that the President has removed you from the office of deputy attorney general of the United States.” Yates has previously worked for more than two decades as a federal prosecutor before joining US Attorney. Here she was called weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration by then WH press secretary, Sean Spicer.
This was followed by the sacking of National Security Advisor, Michael Thomas Flynn who had served US Army for 33-years and retired in the capacity of Lieutenant General. Flynn who was appointed to White House on January 20, 2017 served tenure of 24 days, making him the one who served the shortest in the history of the office. He was forced to leave the office over revelations that he had discussed lifting US sanctions on Russia with their ambassador to Washington, and that he lied to the US vice-president about that conversation. It was after Flynn's departure that the Pentagon launched investigation.
Trump did not stop here. Soon followed the dismissal of Angella Reid, who held the position of Chief Usher, and was responsible for the management of the building and its staff since October 2011 when Barrack Osama was in office. Reid, who was the first lady to hold this position in WH, was dismissed on May 5, 2017, a few months after Trump's election. Although this is a non-political position and usually people have stayed in this post for long, yet Reid was sacked and the reason is not yet disclosed.
This was followed by the sacking of James Comey who served as the seventh Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He served office from September 4, 2013 to May 9, 2017. His role in presidential election is highly controversial and he is considered to have affected Clinton's defeat.
Comey clarified that the reason for his sacking was an investigation carried into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's alleged ties with Russia. According to Comey, Trump asked him to withdraw, despite Comey presenting the testimony of meticulous notes that he made during his meetings with Trump where Trump repeatedly asked Comey to prove his loyalty. Whereas Trump on the flip side said, that he fired Comey because he mishandled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails last year. His dismissal was nothing less than a drama as he came to know about it from a TV news report while he was addressing his staff in California.
Next in the game was Mike Dubke, who was appointed as the Communication Director to White House on March 6, 2017, and was asked to put in his papers on June 2, 2017. It was unclear why Dubke was asked to step down but insiders claimed that he failed to "gel" with Trump’s staff.
Couple of days after Director of US Office of Government Ethics, Walter Michael Shaub Jr. made a quick walk away from Trump office. He served from January 9, 2013 to July 19, 2017. The reason for his resignation is believed to be months of clashes with the White House over issues such as President Trump's refusal to divest his businesses and the administration's delay in disclosing ethics waivers for appointees.
After the Ethics Director, it was Press Secretary, Sean Spicer who was in power for six months (January 20, 2017- July 21, 2017) after the President appointed his supporter and New York financier Anthony Scaramucci as the WH Communication Director. At his farewell he quoted, " Too many cooks in the kitchen".
This was followed by the White House Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus who was in office for six-month months (January 20, 2017- July 31, 2017). However, it is yet not clear whether it was Trump's decision or his own. While departing, Priebus said in a statement: “It has been one of the greatest honours of my life to serve this President and our country. I want to thank the President for giving me this very special opportunity. I will continue to serve as a strong supporter of the President’s agenda and policies. I can’t think of a better person than John Kelly to succeed me and I wish him God’s blessings and great success.”
This followed the dismissal of one of the very controversial political figures, whose hiring spurred speculation: Press secretary Sean Spicer. Scaramucci who was a close contriver and well wisher of President Trump was appointed to the office as a Communication Director. However, his role was of a mere guest since July 25, 2017 as he was fired on July 31, 2017, within 10 days of his appointment.
Trump’s decision to replace Priebus as chief of staff, John Kelly, was distinctly disapproved by Scaramucci, who himself was seemingly both under-qualified and incompetent. So on his very first day as chief, Kelly told Scaramucci that he (Kelly) was done with him.
