The Effect of Cabinet Turnover on Trump’s Presidency

The president’s cabinet is composed of the heads of major executive departments, the Vice President, the Chief of Staff, and many other officials such as the Director of National Intelligence. While never explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, the presidential cabinet can be an aide to the president whenever he or she sees fit. While it is not a decision-making body, the cabinet can help the president make a decision.

President Trump’s Cabinet has been the source of a lot of media attention since he first took office in January 2017. According to NPR, Trump’s Cabinet turnover has set a record – “No elected first-term president in the past 100 years has had this much Cabinet turnover this early in his presidency.” In comparison to past presidents, the rate at which President Trump has dismissed people from his Cabinet is unheard of. This constant change has led the public to believe that the Cabinet, and by extension the Administration, is in a state disarray and turmoil. It also casts doubt on Trump as a leader – if other President’s sustained a stable cabinet, what is so different about Trump? Some people believe it shows his inability to be a leader, or that it’s because he doesn’t get along with anyone who doesn’t agree with him. While this very well may be true, public policy professor James Pfiffner offers up a different approach.

It’s no secret that President Trump is slightly unconventional – a political outsider, he does things different than past Presidents. According to Pfiffner, typically the cabinet is stable for the first two years of a presidency. After the midterm elections turnover begins to happen. He states, “Other presidents wanted to save face for themselves and not look like their Cabinet is in disarray.” This accounts for the typical early stability in presidential cabinets. To take this analysis on step further, Pfiffner also points out the fact that most presidents have a political background and thus choose cabinet members from inside Washington who they have a historical background with. When examining Trump’s cabinet choices, such as Exxon Mobil’s Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State, it is clear that his lack of political background further amplifies his unconventional choices.

Still, as displayed on the graph below, it is shocking to compare the turnover in Trump’s Cabinet versus that of other presidents during the same timeframe. With 32 senior staffers (CNNpolitics) exiting the White House since January 20, 2017, either President Trump is truly failing at convening an appropriate cabinet, or past Presidents were much better at tolerating mistakes among their staff.

I believe that it is difficult to compare President Trump’s time in office to those of past presidents. According to the textbook, the presidency has morphed over time. Newer presidents have taken on roles and exerted power in places where the framers wouldn’t have expected. As technology and society progresses, so too must those who lead us.

Unfortunately, no matter what is causing the turnover in the current cabinet, the connotation is overwhelmingly negative. The cabinet is supposed to consist of advisors who the president trusts. If Trump can’t even trust his own cabinet, then what’s the state of his relationship with those who are outside of his circle of trust and his party? It the Cabinet doesn’t stabilize soon, will this hurt Trump’s chance at reelection? Lastly, is this cabinet turnover totally negative, or is there another perspective that offers a positive view of this situation?

https://www.npr.org/2018/03/19/594164065/trump-cabinet-turnover-sets-record-going-back-100-years

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/10/politics/donald-trump-tom-bossert/index.html

7 Responses to "The Effect of Cabinet Turnover on Trump’s Presidency"

James Weakley says:

April 11, 2018 at 5:05 pm

Langley,
Thanks for the great post on the turnover rate in President Trump’s cabinet. President Trump is notorious for acting in unorthodox ways, it arguably won him the presidency. Yet the insane turnover rate in his cabinet has taken me by surprise. Similar to most Americans I look at the instability of the cabinet in a negative light. I agree that it leads people to question the President’s ability to work with others and run a stable country. A lack of stability will definitely hurt the President Trump’s re-election hopes. Voters will link instability in Trump’s cabinet to inefficiency in the federal government. I also believe this hurts the Republican party as a whole. Cabinet turnover can lead to distrust among fellow Republican politicians hurting the stability and unity of the party. While there are a lot negatives with the high turnover rate in the cabinet, there are benefits too. The firing of bigwig politicians continues the “draining the swamp” narrative embraced by Trump supporters. President Trump continues to challenge the actions and norms expected of a modern President. The immense cabinet turnover adds to the unorthodox nature expected of the 45th president.
Katherine Breed says:

April 11, 2018 at 5:13 pm

Langley,

Thanks for your post! I think you bring up insightful thoughts and an interesting point of view. I do agree with you that it is difficult to compare President Trumps time in office to those of past presidents. He is unlike any president the country has had before with having no prior experience in politics. I think the constant Cabinet turnover is something to question but are people really that surprised? With all the shocking things President Trump has already done, this seems the least questionable.

In arguing that he is different from other presidents who kept the same Cabinet over their early years of Presidency because they wanted to “save face” highlights the positive aspect of President Trumps turnover. His constant change could show Americans that he isn’t afraid and wants to have the best people in his corner regardless of how it may look. Rex Tillerson was fired because he had weak support from his own department and was facing controversial issues. I think there is room to argue both sides of Trump’s changes in the Cabinet. I do think this had to be expected from many Americans that this presidency was going to be unlike any other. Thanks again for your post, I really enjoyed it!
Michael De La Cruz says:

April 12, 2018 at 12:53 am

Langley, you have a very insightful post.

I think the ineffectiveness of his cabinet is due to the fact that he further filled the swamp rather than actually draining it like he had promised. In an article by the Boston Globe, it can be seen that they estimate his cabinet to have a net worth of approximately 13 billion dollars! Compared to the cabinet of George Bush, Trump’s cabinet has a net worth 30 times greater than his. Trump, in trying to fill government positions with business professionals, had failed to make a cohesive and effective team. It seems like he put his own personal interests ahead of the country’s, and now we are paying the price.

This very reason is probably we why see so many people leave his cabinet. If the relationships between our leaders and his appointed staff are based on a give-and-take system, then both sides will become frustrated when they give and do not receive. Following this logic, if Trump promises his appointed officials promises that he is not fulfilling, then he could cause them frustration and they could leave. The dynamics of his cabinet need to change so that he is better able to lead our country.

Sources:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/12/20/trump-cabinet-picks-far-are-worth-combined/XvAJmHCgkHhO3lSxgIKvRM/story.html

http://wallstreetexaminer.com/2017/01/trumps-cabinet-net-worth-30-times-george-w-s-cabinet/
Kelly Gough says:

April 12, 2018 at 10:31 am

Langley,

Thank you for your blog post! It was really well executed and insightful.

One of the points you brought up about Trump’s Cabinet turnover. It is interesting That Trump has set a new record for the amount of turnover he has had so early in his presidency. I definitely agree with the sentiment of the public that the Administration is in a state of disarray and turmoil. You bring up a great question, “if other President’s sustained a stable cabinet, what is so different about Trump?” I believe when the survey showing rankings and best and worst attributes, we will see that Trump lacks many leadership skills and communication skills. Personally, as I watch an address by Trump I often find myself having difficulty taking him seriously or even understanding what point he is trying to make. I am sure some of these issues are also prevalent in his Cabinet.

Thank you again for the thought provoking post.

Kelly
Holden Powers says:

April 12, 2018 at 7:24 pm

Langley,

Thank you so much for your insightful post on Trump’s Cabinet Turnover. After reading some of my fellow colleague’s comments, I tend to agree with Katherine’s comment on the matter. Trump is an unorthodox President who has not and probably will not be a full-time politician after his presidency. Like we have studied in class, politicians are supposed to be people who care about their public image and perception.

Unlike the typical politician, Trump more than likely could care less what people thought about his administration. I believe that his hiring and firing is supposed to be a way to put his cabinet on edge and make people perform under high-pressure like a business environment. Even if his cabinet is filled with CEO’s and very successful people, he does not want them to feel as if their position is complacent and safe. Therefore, if they are performing under expectations, firing them benefits society as a whole even if the image looks poor. Like the old saying goes: “time is money,.” And President Trump is saving lots of time by making “beneficial” turnovers early and quickly to “Make America Great Again” in his opinion.
Haley Overlander says:

April 15, 2018 at 4:06 pm

Langley,

Thank you for your post. I found it to be very thought- provoking. You set up an interesting contrast between evidence that depicts whether Trump’s cabinet turnover rate is positive or negative. After some research of my own, I believe that it is not possible for me to view this incredible turnover rate in a positive light.

According to Danielle Paquette of the Washington Post, “the share of Trump’s top staffers who have left or changed jobs, [has reached] 43 percent — almost triple Barack Obama’s at the end of his second year as president (15 percent)” (Paquette). Though Trump defends the claim that his turnover is causing ‘chaos’ in the White House, and states that his turnover rate “reflects [his] high standards for staffing,” most political historians and experts state it creates a sense of “turmoil” within the White House (Paquette). Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a political historian who has been tracking the White House turnover for the past 20 years, says she would call Trump’s turnover rate, “off the charts.”

When the people elect a president, they are often looking for a sense of stability and strength within the government, however, Trump’s turnover rates have shown the opposite. Tenpas states that “mounting resignations could make it harder for the president to advance his agenda… [Trump’s administration] is not replacing people with much speed, and [therefore] existing staffers have to shoulder more of the burden” (Paquette). With this additional ‘burden’ the staffers are not able to focus on their direct jobs to the best of their ability, therefore, overall weakening the strength of the cabinet and the strength of the presidency. I believe that this turnover rate is an accurate reflection of Trump’s inability to work with people who have opinions opposing his own, which ultimately, takes away from the idea of democracy.

Source:
Paquette, Danielle. “Rex Tillerson Is Latest Casualty in Trump’s Record-Breaking Turnover.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 13 Mar. 2018, http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/08/trumps-turnover-breaks-white-house-records-it-probably-wont-end/?utm_term=.783b932f8351.
Samuel Lambeth says:

May 6, 2018 at 2:24 am

Langley,

Based on media reports, it does seem as if the selection of Cabinet members is not being well thought out by President Trump. I was watching the news recently and Trump’s response to this critique is that it’s always good to have a someone with a different point of view. Like you mentioned in your post, many of his Cabinet members do not have much political experience and are only experts in their industry. The turmoil in his staff is unlike previous presidents, but so is the criteria used to select his Cabinet members. Most of the prior presidents have not appointed cabinet members that have as much first-hand experience in the fields they are regulating. His selection approach is unusual, but his staff are not hired for life time. The high turnover rate is somewhat expected, due to his past of rapidly dismissing his employees throughout all of his businesses. This might explain why President Trump is fine with easily replacing his staff and doesn’t believe it demonstrates his inability to cooperate with his Cabinet members. Great job on your post Langley!

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