U.S. President Donald Trump is joined by (L-R) Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, senior advisor Steve Bannon, Communications Director Sean Spicer and National Security Advisor Michael Flynn in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 28, 2017. With the departure of Bannon from the White House on August 18, 2017 none of these men remain working with Trump at the White House except Pence. (Reuters/File Photo)
U.S. President Donald Trump’s first year in office has been tumultuous with only a few faces from his original team now left in the White House. Eight months into his presidency, several close aides have either resigned or been fired, indicating a clear rift within the administration.
Here’s a list of all the people who have either quit or been fired from the White House:
Carl Icahn, billionaire investor and special adviser to Trump resigned on August 18 over a conflict of interest; he was being criticised for making policy recommendations that would help his own investments.
Billionaire activist-investor Carl Icahn gives an interview on FOX Business Network’s Neil Cavuto show in New York, U.S., February 11, 2014. (Reuters/File Photo)
Steve Bannon was ousted from his position White House adviser on August 18. The chief strategist had a controversial tenure in the White House, marred by rivalries and back-stabbing.
White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. (AP Photo/File)
Reince Priebus claimed he resigned privately on July 27 from his post as Chief of Staff after holding several conversations with Trump regarding leaving the White House. The news of his departure, however, broke a day after then communications director Anthony Scaramucci accused Priebus of leaking information to reporters. “The president has a right to hit a reset button. I think it’s time to hit the reset button,” he had said in a televised interview, reported Reuters.
Michael Short, senior assistant press secretary, called it quits on July 25 amid reports of Scaramucci making cuts, reported Fox News.
Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary resigned on July 21 over the appointment of New York financier Anthony Scaramucci as the communications director. The 45-year-old rejected Trump’s offer to stay on, maintaining that the appointment was a mistake.
Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary, resigned over the appointed of Anthony Scaramucci. (Reuters/File Photo)
Mike Dubke tendered his resignation on May 18, around three months after he was appointed communications director. While he provided no reason for his departure, he said, “It has been my great honour to serve President Trump and this administration.”
Michael Flynn resigned from his post as National Security Adviser on February 14 over allegations of ties with Russia. Flynn, who held the post for less than a month, ‘sincerely apologised’ to Trump and Vice-President Mike Spencer for providing them incomplete information about his Russian contacts, namely Russia Ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn arrives to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, NY, U.S. November 17, 2016. (Reuters/File Photo)
Following are other senior officials, who are not part of the Trump cabinet, but have resigned after serious differences with the US President:
James Comey was fired as director of the FBI on May 9 by Trump in the backdrop of the investigation of Russian collusion in the 2016 Presidential Election. Comey, who took interest in probing the case and had sought increase federal resources for it, was eventually sacked although Trump claimed he was fired due to incompetency.
Former FBI Director James Comey. (File Photo)
Preet Bharara, former US Attorney, was fired in March, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions forced the 46 appointees made by the former President to tender their resignations. When he refused, he was shown the door. “I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired,” he had written on Twitter.
Former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara sits duringa a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Naturalization ceremony at One World Observatory in Manhattan, New York, U.S., August 15, 2017. (Reuters/File)
Sally Yates, the federal government’s top lawyer, was fired on January 30 after she defied the White House by saying the Justice Department would not defend Trump’s travel restrictions targeting seven Muslim-majority nations. She had argued that the order would not be “consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right.”
Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates testifies about potential Russian interference in the presidential election before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., U.S. May 8, 2017. (Reuters/File)
(With inputs from agencies)
