Firings, resignations, promotions mark early months of Trump presidency

World Today

U.S. Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved Christopher Wray to lead the FBI. Wray takes over the law enforcement agency nearly three months after President Trump abruptly fired his predecessor.

That phrase: ‘You’re fired,’ helped shape Trump’s public image.

As CGTN’s Sean Callebs explains, it’s also shaping his time in the White House.

The tone for the Trump Administration was set even as the billionaire-turned-politician took the oath of office. Non-career diplomats were told their service would end the day he took office, departing from a long-time protocol in Washington, DC. 

Acting Attorney General Sally Yates was fired on Jan. 30, 2017, for refusing to defend President Trump’s initial travel ban on people from seven majority-Muslim countries.

Ten days later, on Jan. 30, Trump ousted acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates. Yates was dismissed for telling Justice Department employees not to defend Trump’s initial travel ban affecting seven mostly-Muslim nations.

Two weeks after that, on Feb. 13, Trump shuffled the deck again.

National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned—after misleading the Vice-President and other top White House officials about meetings he had with Russian officials.

Retired General Michael Flynn resigned 23 days after being named national security adviser when it became known that he did not reveal his meeting with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

On May 9, FBI Director James Comey says he heard on the news that he had been sacked. Trump says he fired Comey for mishandling the investigation into rival Hillary Clinton’s classified emails. Comey disagrees. Comey told the U.S. Senate that Trump asked him to back off the Flynn investigation. Comey refused.

Former FBI Director James B. Comey learned he’d been fired by President Trump on May 9, 2017 from news reports. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, left, and Susan Walsh, File)

May was a busy month for The White House. On the 30th, Communications Director Mike Dubke quit.

But the end of July has been frenetic. Press Secretary Sean Spicer quit, after Trump hired former hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci as the new Communications Director. Colorful, and brash – he calls himself “The Mooch.” 

“The Mooch” orchestrated the departure of Reince Priebus—Trump’s Chief of Staff. Shortly after that Scaramucci went on a foul-mouthed tirade to a U.S. magazine. He threatened to fire…well, a lot of people in the White House. The White House rejected charges the administration was spiraling out of control. But after a scant 11 days, “The Mooch” was gone, too.

No-nonsense former Four-Star Marine General John Kelly became Trump’s new Chief of Staff—leaving his cabinet post as Director of Homeland Security. Kelly’s first official act as Chief of Staff—getting rid Scaramucci.

 

Is this the end of the real-life “House of Cards” – at least for the foreseeable future? Many Washington officials hope Kelly can bring some semblance of order to the Trump White House, allowing Trump and his team to focus on the growing list of domestic and international concerns that have been stacking up in the Oval Office.