Trump says more staff will leave as he seeks 'perfection'

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump denied Tuesday that his White House is chaotic, but predicted more staff will leave, as allies and observers worry about West Wing brain drain.

Trump's White House has made instability a virtue, but weeks of dysfunction and disarray — and a series of high-profile departures — raised internal fears of an exodus. Trump maintained that his White House has "tremendous energy," but multiple White House officials said Trump has been pushing anxious aides to stay.

"Everyone wants to work in the White House," Trump said during a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven. "They all want a piece of the Oval Office."

In a tweet earlier Tuesday, Trump sought to portray himself as the architect of some of the changes, writing, "I still have some people that I want to change (always seeking perfection)."

Trump acknowledged that he is a tough boss to work for, saying he enjoys watching his closest aides fight over policy. "I like conflict," he said during the press conference.

But it's a conflict over trade policy that could soon provoke the departure of top Trump economic aide Gary Cohn, the director of the national economic council. Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs banker, has been the strongest West Wing opponent of Trump's plan to place tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Cohn is mounting an eleventh-hour campaign to swing the president's thinking around, but Trump so far has refused to back down on the proposal, despite opposition from Republicans on Capitol Hill, international allies and many in the business committee.

A person who deals with the administration regularly on economic issues said Cohn is widely expected to leave the administration within a couple of days of the formal tariffs announcement, and a White House official said Cohn is expected to depart soon. Both spoke on condition because they were not authorized to discuss internal conversations.

Cohn was nowhere in sight at the joint press conference and a seat reserved for him in the East Room was filled by a different aide.

Dating back to the campaign, Trump has frequently and loudly complained about the quality of his staff, eager to fault his aides for any mishaps rather than acknowledge any personal responsibility. But the attacks on his own staff have sharpened in recent weeks and he has suggested to confidants that he has few people at his side he can count on, according to two people familiar with his thinking but not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations.

Coinciding with the heated debate over tariffs, Trump's communications director Hope Hicks, one of his closest and most devoted aides, announced her resignation, leaving a glaring vacancy in the informal cadre of Trump loyalists in the White House.

Turnover after just over a year in office is nothing new, but the Trump administration has churned through staff at a dizzying pace since taking office last January, and allies are worried the situation could descend into a free-fall.

Making matters worse, the list of prospects to replace departing aides grows shorter as the sense of turmoil increases. Vacancies abound throughout the West Wing and the administration at large, from critical roles like staff secretary to more junior positions in the press office.

Multiple aides who are considering departing said they didn't have a clue who could fill their roles — adding that their desire to remain team players has kept them on the job longer than they had planned. But they warned they were nearing their breaking point.

A number of aides have expressed worry about the legal implications — and steep legal bills — they could face if ensnared in the ongoing Russia probe. The probe has had a chilling effect on an already sluggish White House hiring process, according to officials, and there is wide concern that working for Trump could negatively affect future career prospects.

Meanwhile, the prospects for significant governing achievements in the coming years — like the GOP tax bill passed in December — are growing fleeting, as Republicans face a daunting electoral environment this fall.

In a riff Saturday at the Gridiron Dinner, an annual white-tie affair, Trump engaged in a rare bout of self-deprecating humor, comparing the Oval Office job to his past career as the host of the reality-television show "The Apprentice."

"In one job I had to manage a cutthroat cast of characters, desperate for TV time, totally unprepared for their roles and their jobs and each week afraid of having their asses fired — and the other job I was the host of a smash television hit."

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Lemire reported from New York. AP writers Darlene Superville and Jill Colvin contributed.

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Follow Miller on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@ZekeJMiller and Lemire at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire.