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| Democracy Dies in Darkness |
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| Keeping up with politics is easy now |
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A few dynamics are at play here:
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1. Trump is firing people he doesn't like or agree with: And he's surrounding himself with people he does like or hopes will agree with him. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson got swapped for one of Trump's closest confidantes, CIA Director Mike Pompeo. McMaster could get replaced by TV personality John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who frequently goes on Fox News to defend Trump. (Trump is considering lots of TV personalities, btw.) The problem with this strategy is that Trump risks surrounding himself with “yes” men who are less inclined to check his controversial impulses.
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Soon-to-be secretary of state Mike Pompeo is often by Trump's side. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
One potent example of this: White House counsel Donald McGahn threatened to quit in the summer if Trump fired the special counsel investigating Russia-Trump connections. Trump backed off firing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, and McGahn arguably saved the president from a constitutional crisis that could have destroyed his presidency.
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2. Trump likes conflict: Here's the president earlier this month on his staff shake-ups:
“I like conflict, I like having two people with different points of view, and I certainly have that. And then I make a decision. But I like watching it, I like seeing it, and I think it's the best way to go.”
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Trump: ‘Everybody wants to work in the White House’
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3. Trump trusts himself more than anyone else: Trump pulled the lever earlier this month on implementing controversial tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, despite most of his advisers counseling him not to. Then he decided to meet with North Korea's leader without input from his secretary of state. More than a year into his presidency, our White House team reports that Trump is feeling more confident in making decisions on his own, which suggests he considers everyone else expendable. Especially the people he doesn't like.
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National security adviser H.R. McMaster's job is on the rocks. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
By the time you finish reading this newsletter, any one of these people could be fired, that's how precarious the situation is. Here's a running list:
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McMaster: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday that there's no personnel changes “at this time,” which means he's in limbo for now. While The Post reported Trump has decided on the move, the timing is still up in the air.
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White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly: His name has been on and off this list for months now, after he originally protected a top aide accused of domestic violence.
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Andrew McCabe: Until recently, McCabe was the FBI's No. 2. He stepped down in January ami Trump attacks and plans to officially retire Sunday, when he can receive his full retirement benefits. But the White House appears to be pushing to fire McCabe before Sunday. The move, writes The Fix's Callum Borchers, could chill the president's critics in law enforcement: “However unfair Trump's attack on McCabe might be, firing McCabe could be a warning to others that if the president thinks you are his enemy, he might come after you.”
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Andrew McCabe testifies to Congress in May. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin: For taking a taxpayer-paid trip to Europe for 10 days with his wife, and then having his chief of staff doctor an email to justify the expense.
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Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson: For ordering a $31,000 dining room set for his office.
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Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt: For traveling first class at taxpayer expenses and installing a soundproof phone booth in his office.
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Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke: For his agency spending $139,000 to renovate his office's door.
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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos: For her jaw-droppingly uninformed interview about education on "60 Minutes.”
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And here's a look back at the firings/departures in Trump world this year alone:
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(Kevin Schaul, Reuben Fischer-Baum and Kevin Uhrmacher/The Post)
A name you should know going into the weekend: Louise Slaughter
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Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-N.Y.) rallies for Obamacare with congressional Democrats. (Michael Reynolds/EPA)
Who she is: A liberal congresswoman from New York who died Friday morning. She was 88 and the oldest sitting member of Congress.
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What you need to know about her: Slaughter was an outspoken champion of women's access to health care (she was a leading Obamacare advocate), access to abortion, and protection from domestic violence, reports The Post's Harrison Smith. She led an effort in the '90s to get the Senate to hear from Anita Hill, a former aide to Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas who accused Thomas of sexual harassment.
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What Washington is saying about her: That she was one of the most effective, bullish voices for the Democratic Party. And that's coming from Republicans. Here's a top adviser for House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.):
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called her a “trailblazer” for “countless young women.”
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