Trump schedule leak brings 'chaos' to the White House: 'People inside are genuinely scared'


One of the most stunning leaks out of President Trump's administration has returned the White House to a state of paranoia.
Axios on Sunday published months of Trump's private schedule, with 95 pages of documents showing that the president spends about 60 percent of his time devoted to unstructured "Executive Time." This leak "set off internal finger-pointing and speculation more fevered than any since The New York Times' anonymous op-ed," Axios reported Monday, also citing insiders as saying the document release "sowed chaos."
There have been plenty of leaks out of the White House, to be sure, some of which have inspired the staff to desperately hunt for who could have been responsible. But this one was far more severe than usual, as Cliff Sims, the former White House aide who recently authored the tell-all book Team of Vipers, told Axios. "There are leaks, and then there are leaks," he said. "If most are involuntary manslaughter, this was premeditated murder. People inside are genuinely scared." Daily Mail's David Martosko similarly reports, "I'm told this has the West Wing rattled, moreso than the usual petty leaking."
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.
This reaction can be gleaned even just from the White House's strong pushback, with Director of Office Operations Madeleine Westerhout writing that it's "a disgraceful breach of trust to leak schedules." White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, meanwhile, defended Trump's Executive Time schedule by saying that this time is "to allow for a more creative environment that has helped make him the most productive president in modern history."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations