Trump’s inner circle shrinks as senior White House officials resign ahead of midterms

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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 skeptical voters.

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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 this year, the person said.

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“This also is, without question, the hardest time to hire into an administration,” said Lisa Camooso Miller, a former Republican National Committee communications director. “The real question is, who’s going to fill these roles? Will they be the right people, and will they be people that 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.”

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Post-midterm strategy

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

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In April, Trump announced 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.

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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.

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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 last month to take a job in the private sector. Emily Underwood, who worked under White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, left earlier this month 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.

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The remaining team 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.

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

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Trump has also told aides 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 traveling ahead of the midterms, and there has been internal competition among them to do so, the person said.

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“I think it’s clear that the number one issue continues to be affordability and people feeling insecure in the current economy,” Short said. “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.”

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— With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Josh Wingrove.

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