White House hit with staff upheavals -
again
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[November 14, 2018]
By Steve Holland and Mark Hosenball
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Another round of
upheaval engulfed President Donald Trump's White House on Tuesday, with
the future of several senior aides in doubt just a week after U.S.
congressional elections.
Three Trump cabinet members - Chief of Staff John Kelly, Homeland
Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke -
could soon be gone, said sources familiar with internal discussions in
the Republican administration.
Turnover among White House personnel paused during the run-up to last
week's elections after senior Republicans asked Trump to refrain from
firing staff, hoping to minimize perceptions of disorder.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced out by Trump last week just
hours after the results came in from the Nov. 6 elections, which handed
majority control of the House of Representatives to Democrats.
Trump's first 22 months in office have seen frequent shakeups. A study
this year by the Brookings Institution, a think tank, found Trump's
White House has had the highest turnover of senior-level staff of the
past five presidents.
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In an unusual move, sources said, Trump was also ready to dismiss Mira
Ricardel, deputy national security advisor, at the request of his wife,
Melania Trump, after a clash between the two over the first lady's
recent trip to Africa.
Melania Trump's office acknowledged the acrimony.
Trump was expected to remove Nielsen, a source close to the White House
said. Nielsen took the job after Trump made Kelly his chief of staff.
But now the president is considering getting rid of both them, the
source said.
Zinke has been under investigation for several ethics controversies
including travel and a business deal in his home state of Montana,
casting doubt on how long he would remain at the helm of the agency.
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![](../images/111418pics/news_w44.jpg)
President Donald Trump speaks to White House Chief of Staff John
Kelly after an event with reporters in the Oval Office at the White
House in Washington, U.S. October 10, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan
Ernst/File Photo
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A final decision on his future could be postponed beyond this week.
He is scheduled to travel to California on Wednesday and Thursday to
visit communities hit by deadly wildfires, the Interior Department
said on Tuesday.
Trump last week said Zinke was doing an “excellent job” but left
open the possibility of replacing him. "We're looking at that, and I
do want to study whatever is being said," Trump told reporters last
week.
Adding to the sense of upheaval at the White House, Special Counsel
Robert Mueller was planning to file more indictments in his 18-month
investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election
and possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign,
sources said.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Mark Hosenball; Additional reporting
by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Kevin
Drawbaugh and Cynthia Osterman)
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