A new report concluded that the second Trump administration’s Senate-confirmed officials have experienced the highest turnover rate in recent history, with more leaving at this point in his term than at any other.
In the first 18 months of President Donald Trump’s second term, 27 of his Senate-confirmed officials have resigned from their posts, representing 11.4% of the total, according to an analysis from the Partnership for Public Service. In comparison, Trump’s first administration, which was famous at the time for its high turnover, saw only 11 officials leave from the beginning of his term in 2017 to July 20, 2018.
The departures weren’t comparable to those of former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Trump experienced nearly four times as many departures as Obama during the same period, over five times as many as Bush, and 27 times as many as Biden.
The departures of three Cabinet secretaries were well-covered — the drama surrounding the departures of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, and former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer each drove the news cycle for a period of time.
Much less covered has been the exodus of lower officials, including four in the first two weeks of July alone. The Department of the Treasury and the Department of Health and Human Services have seen an outsize number of departures, with six and four departures, respectively.
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The Senate-confirmed officials are also notable for their short tenures. The candidates waited an average of about five months to be confirmed and served an average of eight months. Nearly one-third spent less time in the job than they did getting confirmed.
Trump’s second administration struck another record — the lowest number of Senate-confirmation-required nominations since President Ronald Regan. Trump has relied on acting officials, rather than confirmed ones, as they allow him to put in place officials most favorable to him whom the Senate may reject.