U.S. President Donald Trump with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. February 28, 2026. The White House/REUTERS
During his years on the hit reality show "The Apprentice," Donald Trump was famous for using the phrase "You're fired" — a phrase he later used frequently during his first presidency after clashing with administration officials he appointed. Since returning to the White House 18 months ago, Trump has generally appointed MAGA loyalists who are less likely to question him. But according to Daily Beast reporter Cameron Adams, "senior officials" in the federal government "have been deserting Donald Trump's second presidential administration at a record rate."
Adams, in the Beast, reports, "The exodus has seen 27 Senate-confirmed officials leave their positions in the last 18 months, up from 11 over the same period in his first term — a 145 percent increase, according to an analysis from the Partnership for Public Service, reported by The Hill. The figures show the number of officials leaving their jobs during Trump 2.0 is six times higher than the average number during the first 18 months under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden."
Many of these senior officials in the federal government aren't waiting to get fired — they are quitting. But at the same time, Trump is firing some of his most devoted loyalists.
"Three Cabinet secretaries have lost their jobs in Trump's second term so far: Kristi Noem at Homeland Security, Pam Bondi as attorney general, and Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer," Adams explains. "Trump fired Noem in March and installed Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to lead DHS (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) after a string of embarrassing incidents and scandals involving the woman dubbed 'Ice Barbie' by the Daily Beast for her love of uniformed cosplay. Bondi was fired in early April over her handling of the Epstein files and her failure to prosecute her boss' enemies."
The Daily Beast reporter adds, "Chavez-DeRemer handed in her resignation in April, after a laundry list of complaints and allegations of potential misconduct."
Adams notes that "four Senate-confirmed officials have left the Trump administration during the first two weeks of this month alone."
"They include Tina Pierce, the former CFO at the Energy Department and Maj. Gen. John Bartrum, who was undersecretary of health at the Department of Veterans Affairs," Adams reports. "The analysis also found that four confirmed officials have left the Health and Human Services Department under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while six have left the Treasury Department under Scott Bessent."
Another departure from the federal government was former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned from her position as national intelligence director for second Trump administration to, she said, care for her husband (who is suffering from cancer). Trump nominated U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official Jay Clayton for the position, and MAGA loyalist Bill Pulte is serving as acting intel director while the U.S. Senate evaluates Clayton.