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according to White House o cials and outside Trump allies concerned about the slow pace of hires.
Trump’s mercurial decision-making practices, fears of being drawn into special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investi- gation and a stalled legislative agenda are keeping top- ight talent on the outside.
“Most of all, President Trump hasn’t demonstrated a scrap of loyalty to current and former sta , and everyone knows it,” said Michael Steel, a former aide to one- time Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., and ex-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Trump acknowledged that he is a tough boss, saying he enjoys watching his closest aides ght over policy.
“I like con ict,” he said Tuesday.
Since his days on the campaign, Trump has frequently and loudly complained about the quality of his sta , eager to fault his aides for any mishaps rather than shouldering responsibility. His attacks on his sta have sharpened in recent weeks, and he has suggested to con dants that he has few people at his side he can count on, according to two people familiar with his thinking who were not authorized to discuss private conversations publicly.
Hicks’ departure will leave a gaping hole in the president’s inner circle. She served as both media gatekeeper and con dante.
A number of other aides have expressed worry about the legal implications — and steep bills — they could face if ensnared in Mueller’s probe. It has had a chilling e ect on an already sluggish White House hiring
process, according to o cials, and there is wide concern that working for Trump could negatively a ect career prospects.
Meanwhile, hopes for signi cant gov- erning achievements in the coming years, along the lines of the tax cuts passed in December, are growing eeting, as Repub- licans face a daunting electoral environ- ment this fall.
Morale has plunged among West Wing aides in recent weeks. Some point to the departure of sta secretary Rob Porter in mid-February as beginning the tailspin.
Porter was a popular gure, but his de- parture undid some of the progress made on streamlining the White House’s chaotic policy process. Allegations of domestic violence against him stunned co-workers. A permanent replacement has yet to be named.
Moreover, chief of sta John Kelly’s shi ing explanations for how he handled the Porter matter — including, in the eyes of some, outright lies — damaged his reputation among sta ers who had seen Kelly as a stabilizing force in a turbulent West Wing.
e administration has been under- sta ed from the onset, in part due to the president’s refusal to consider hiring even the most quali ed Republicans if they op- posed him during the campaign, according to a White House o cial not authorized to speak publicly about personnel matters.
But some aides insisted that Trump would not have trouble nding quali ed replacements.
“At the end of the day, I liken what goes on here to a football team like the New England Patriots, rights?” Peter Navarro, the director of the White House’s Trade and Manufacturing Policy o ce, said on Bloomberg TV. “Like every year, the Pa- triots win the division, but they do it with di erent players. What doesn’t change is the coach and the quarterback, and that’s what we have in Donald Trump.”
e White House did not immediate-
ly announce a replacement for Cohn, whose deputy, Jeremy Katz, le in January. Among those under consideration for Cohn’s job are CNBC commentator Larry Kudlow and O ce of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, accord- ing to a person familiar with the discus- sions.
In a ri Saturday at the Gridiron Din- ner, an annual white-tie a air featuring journalists and o cials, Trump engaged in a rare bout of self-deprecating humor, comparing the Oval O ce job with his past career as the host of the reality-televi- sion show “ e 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 red, and the other job I was the host of a smash television hit.”
Several White House aides in the au- dience laughed in their tailcoats and ball gowns. But the joke, they knew, was on them.
“Everyone wants to work in the White House.
They all want a piece of
e Oval O ice.”
-PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
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