Brace yourself for a Trump administration exodus


Secretary of State Rex Tillerson could potentially resign within weeks, two separate reports published Thursday claimed, although the White House has denied having any "personnel announcements at this time." Tillerson, though, might not be the only administration official on the way out the door, The Wall Street Journal reports. "There will be significant turnover at the one-year mark," one senior administration official predicted.
Potential departures include National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn, Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short, and President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Cohn in particular has expressed his displeasure with the administration, with the Financial Times reporting in August that he "seriously considered resigning" after Trump blamed "both sides" for clashes at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Kushner has been embroiled in controversy over serially failing to properly fill out his government disclosure papers and being a person of interest in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. Kushner's theoretical exit from the administration would be a "face-saving" move, an insider suggested to The Independent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Dearborn might not be on his way out of the administration so much as he might be shifted somewhere else — officials say he could become a deputy secretary at the Department of Commerce or Treasury Department. Then again, he has also reportedly "fielded offers from several outside groups," The Wall Street Journal writes.
Lastly, Short is reportedly in the running to take over the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. He also dismissed the rumors: "I'm not planning on going anywhere," he claimed. "I'm actually having fun, in a sick way."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Easy listening: the best audiobooks
The Week Recommends Swap hefty hardbacks for hands-free reading this summer
-
Sharenting: does covering children's faces on social media protect them?
In The Spotlight Privacy trend has 'trickled down' from celebrity parents but it may not protect your kids
-
Syria's returning refugees
The Explainer Thousands of Syrian refugees are going back to their homeland but conditions there remain extremely challenging
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump