President Trump announced on Saturday that Ryan Zinke, the secretary of the Interior Department and a key figure in the president’s sweeping plan to reshape the nation’s environmental framework, will leave his post at the end of the year. Mr. Zinke’s departure comes as Mr. Trump is undertaking a shakeup in his administration. In early November, the president fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and last weekend he announced that his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, was leaving.
Some roles have been more volatile than others. For example, there have been four White House communications directors, with stints ranging from less than a week (Anthony Scaramucci) to more than six months (Hope Hicks). Sean Spicer, while serving as press secretary, filled the position twice — once in an acting capacity after Michael Dubke resigned.
The flurry of changes at the White House and cabinet level is “unprecedented,” according to Max Stier, the president and chief executive of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit organization that specializes in federal government management issues.
“The disruption is highly consequential,” Mr. Stier said. “When you lose a leader, it has a cascade effect throughout the organization.”
A New York Times analysis of 21 top White House and cabinet positions back to President Bill Clinton’s first term shows how unusual the Trump administration’s upheaval was through the first 14 months of a presidency. Nine of these positions had turned over at least once during the Trump administration, compared with three at the same point of the Clinton administration, two under President Barack Obama and one under President George W. Bush.
On several occasions, Mr. Trump has filled newly open positions with officials already in his administration. He chose Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, to replace Mr. Tillerson, and Mr. Pompeo’s deputy, Gina Haspel, to replace Mr. Pompeo. Ms. Hicks, a longtime aide and confidant, took over communications after Mr. Scaramucci’s disastrous tenure. And Kirstjen Nielsen, who now leads the Department of Homeland Security, crisscrossed from that department to the White House and then back again.
“There’s a pull to fill from within, but that’s often a bad idea,” Mr. Stier said. “Not only does it create a new vacancy but you’re also not expanding the talent pool. One of the primary leadership challenges is getting information from outside the bubble you exist in.”
from Just News Update https://ift.tt/2NxgvAy
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