For more than ten years during his stay in reality The apprenticeDonald Trump built his personal brand with two words: “You’re fired!” » And during his first term at the White House (2017 – 2021), he did not hesitate to show his collaborators the door, often through an abrasive tweet. But since the start of his second US presidential term in January, Trump appears to have become an unusually cautious boss, more inclined to hire than fire.
While his first term was characterized by chaos – the first 14 months were marked by the greatest cabinet turnover seen by a US president in a century – his second was stable compared to the previous one, with a team that remained virtually intact.
Trump recently said he thought his cabinet was “fantastic,” downplaying reports of alleged troubles with his Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, or with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “I’ve read these same stories where they say I’m unhappy with so-and-so, and that’s not the case. I think the firm has done a great job… We have a fantastic firm.”
If you are loyal and a fighter, the scales will tend to tip in your favor, even if you make mistakes. Mistakes are secondary and loyalty and constant aggression are paramount. I’m sure Trump likes the fact that Hegseth never backs down, never admits his mistakes.
Bill Galston
— Brookings Institution
This confidence has persisted despite constant controversy. Hegseth is under scrutiny for his misuse of the messaging app Signal and his handling of military operations in the Caribbean. Noem has been criticized for her extravagant spending and her dispute with the so-called “border czar,” Tom Homan.
FBI Director Kash Patel has drawn criticism from Democrats and Republicans for his handling of sensitive investigations; while Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard raised suspicions earlier this year by warning, in a video message, that the world was “on the brink of nuclear annihilation.”
The closest thing to an impeachment occurred when last May, national security adviser Mike Waltz was quietly replaced by Marco Rubio, only to be recycled as Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
For his detractors, the explanation is simple. The president has assembled a court of loyalists bound more by personal loyalty than institutional independence. And they give the example of cabinet meetings during which secretaries strive to outdo each other by lavishing generous praise on their boss.
Trump knows that right now the Senate is less likely to confirm the type of people he wants. He won’t have another Hegseth, he won’t have another Gabbard, he won’t have another RFK Jr. It’s in the past.
Rick Wilson
— former republican strategist
According to Bill Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (an influential Washington-based center specializing in public policy analysis, governance and international relations), Trump’s team “operates in an environment in which loyalty comes first.” If you are loyal and a fighter, the scales will tend to tip in your favor, even if you make mistakes. “I’m sure Trump likes the fact that Hegseth never backs down, never admits his mistakes,” adds Galston.
There are other reasons for Trump to say that “No You’re fired. »Firing a Cabinet member means having to appoint a replacement, which could involve a complicated confirmation process in the Senate. Even when Trump was at the height of his power earlier this year, Hegseth faced tough voting, while Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now health secretary, received only two more votes than were needed to be confirmed to office.
Now, with Trump’s popularity plummeting and the midterm elections looming in November 2026, the Senate may be more skeptical of the president’s unconventional decisions.
Galston, who was a domestic policy adviser to former Democratic President Bill Clinton, also notes that “it is reasonable to say that Republicans in Congress are less complacent than they were a year ago, because they have undoubtedly realized that the president’s popularity with the public has declined significantly and that they could be dragged down with him.” “It is easy to imagine that the confirmation procedures would become a framework for unfavorable criticism of what happened in these departments or agencies under the previous leadership during the first year, and this would not be a good thing either,” emphasizes the expert.
Rick Wilson, a former Republican strategist, shares this view. According to him, “Trump knows that right now there is less chance that the Senate will confirm the type of people he wants. He will not have another Hegseth, he will not have another Gabbard, he will not have another RFK Jr. It’s in the past.”
Plus, Trump doesn’t want to admit he made a mistake. Wilson, co-founder of the Lincoln Project (an influential political action committee created by Republican strategists to oppose Donald Trump), says that “Trump doesn’t want to fire anyone. The reason is he thinks it’s a win for the media. He thinks the media always wins when they fire someone.”
It’s reasonable to say that congressional Republicans are less complacent than they were a year ago, as they no doubt realize that the president’s popularity with the public has declined significantly and that they could be dragged into his downfall.
Bill Galston
— Brooking Institution
The president’s moderation in this second term contrasts with the first, defined by a succession of relevant dismissals: the director of the FBI at the time, James Comey, nicknamed “the worst leader in the history of the agency”; White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus marooned on an airstrip in the rain; and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, allegedly shot while sitting on a toilet.
No one embodied the upheaval and turbulence better than Anthony Scaramucci, ousted after just 10 days as White House communications director following a crude verbal confrontation with other members of Trump’s team.
The difference now is partly a matter of familiarity. During his first term, Trump appointed figures such as Jim Mattis, a well-respected former general whom the president barely knew and who later resigned as defense secretary over foreign policy disagreements. Hegseth, on the other hand, has been in Trump’s orbit for more than a decade and is an inveterate sycophant.
Tara Setmayer, co-founder and executive director of the Seneca Project (a women-led political action committee), says the reason we’re not seeing as many layoffs this time is because “it’s all about adulation.” “Trump has filled his cabinet with mostly loyal, incompetent people. He has neutralized Congress in an unprecedented way. With the combination of a lack of accountability and a level of loyalty we didn’t see in the first term, it’s not surprising that there hasn’t been much turnover. They’re doing whatever Trump wants them to do to the detriment of the country,” he explains.
But the truth is that there have been purges of another type. Trump began his presidency in early 2025 by encouraging millions of federal officials to resign and removed remaining members of advisory committees, while the Justice Department fired dozens of career prosecutors, including those linked to investigations involving Trump himself.
Translation by Emma Reverter
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