White House exodus poses new challenge for Trump at pivotal time

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump is entering a critical stretch in his second term with a slew of resignations among his senior staff, forcing him to rely on an even smaller circle of aides.

Over the last month, Trump has lost his chief spokesperson, his top legal adviser, a key national security adviser and his liaison to Capitol Hill.

More senior officials are said to be weighing a potential exit over the next few months, according to people familiar with the matter.

While staff departures are typical before midterm elections, the departures of key aides such as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in August took some in the White House by surprise, according to a person familiar with the matter.

James Braid, White House director of legislative affairs and a long-time Trump aide, announced earlier in August his plans to quit in the coming weeks.

Braid’s announcement came a week after Leavitt – another of Trump’s most trusted advisers and fiercest defenders – said she would step down at the end of August.

Their successors have not been announced.

White House deputy national security adviser Andy Baker, who had been personally involved in negotiations with Iran, and White House counsel David Warrington have also departed and were replaced by existing administration officials.

The senior staff exodus comes at an already tumultuous time for Trump, who is struggling with foreign and domestic challenges – including some of his own making.

Republicans are facing the prospect of losing their congressional majorities in the November midterm elections, a result that could open his administration to subpoenas and investigations under a Democratic-led Congress.

As he enters the last two years of his final term, Trump faces historically low approval ratings, a shaky economy and an unpopular war in Iran that has roiled global energy markets.

He is engaged in a fresh trade war with Canada and has lashed out at South Korea, another long-time US ally. 

The string of departures threatens to create a vacuum in Trump’s inner circle and finding replacements will not be easy.

“If your vetting process the first go-round mandates that you have to claim that the 2020 election was stolen, then the pool of candidates was probably already small and getting smaller now,” said Marc Short, who served in the first Trump administration.

The administration has expressed little outward concern over the outflow of aides.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said: “This movement is bigger than any one staff member, and the President’s mission to make America greater than ever before will continue unabated.”

Still, the loss of some of Trump’s closest advisers has left the White House without a clear succession plan in key offices.

Braid, whose job was to press congressional Republicans on the President’s legislative agenda, has lost much of his staff over the last six months, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Though Leavitt plans to remain in Trump’s orbit, her absence in the communications office deprives the President of one of his most effective messengers to sell his domestic and foreign policies to sceptical voters.

Trump, however, is in no rush to replace Leavitt, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In the meantime, the White House is weighing a plan to again rotate Cabinet officials through the briefing room as they did while she was on maternity leave earlier in 2026, the person said.

Lisa Camooso Miller, a former Republican National Committee communications director, said: “This also is, without question, the hardest time to hire into an administration.

“The real question is, who’s going to fill these roles? Will they be the right people, and will they be people the President listens to? It’s not so much about the vacancies, but who’s willing to go into the second two years of an administration that largely will face headwinds with a change in Congress.”

Strategy boost ahead of midterms

The administration has announced some key moves to boost its political operation and strategy ahead of the midterms.

In April, Trump announced that deputy chief of staff James Blair would temporarily leave the White House to lead the President’s political operation.

Earlier this summer, the White House brought back veteran advisers Jason Miller and Johnny DeStefano to focus on midterm messaging, Bloomberg previously reported. 

Trump also tapped his Cabinet secretary, Will Scharf, to replace Warrington as White House counsel, partly in preparation for the onslaught of congressional investigations should Democrats take control of the House, according to a White House official.

Scharf was part of Trump’s legal team during his four years out of office and was one of the President’s lawyers in the election obstruction case.

Several other aides have left in recent months.

Trump’s pardons attorney and staunch ally Ed Martin has announced his departure from the Justice Department.

Abigail Jackson, a deputy White House spokeswoman, stepped down in July to take a job in the private sector.

Emily Underwood, who worked under White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, left earlier in August to join a venture capital firm, according to a person familiar with her decision.

Caleb Orr, a top adviser to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is expected to replace her.

The remaining team members will have their work cut out for them.

In addition to resolving conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, some within the party are pushing the White House for fresh economic plans, including further tax cuts to expand the President’s signature tax and spending law. 

The administration is expected to unveil economic-focused policy proposals in the coming weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Trump has also told aides that he wants to travel more frequently to stump for House and Senate candidates in the home stretch of the midterm campaign, the person said.

Cabinet members have been travelling ahead of the midterms, and there has been internal competition among them to do so, the person said.

Short said: “I think it’s clear that the No. 1 issue continues to be affordability and people feeling insecure in the current economy.

“There also has to be: Here’s what our candidates clearly laid out. And I’m less confident that American voters understand that right now.” BLOOMBERG