As President Donald Trump heads into the final stretch before November's midterm elections, more and more of his administration’s officials have either been ousted or are under mounting scrutiny. The recent departures of Kristi Noem, Paolo Zampolli and Kimberly Guilfoyle come as reports suggest White House chief of staff Susie Wiles is under fire and as new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia faces questions about her legal career, creating a series of personnel controversies just weeks before the midterm elections. Together, they have created an unusual run of negative headlines about people hired by the Trump administration just weeks before voters head to the polls, raising the possibility that the administration's personnel problems could become a political liability.
This comes as Republicans fight to defend their slim congressional majorities in highly contested midterm elections that could prove consequential for the remainder of Trump’s second term. This year, several races are unexpectedly competitive amid Trump's declining approval ratings and concerns about persistent inflation, high gas prices and the Iran war. Rumors about White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’ future intensified this week after Politico reported that the president has reportedly discussed her role and potential successors with advisers.
Wiles was appointed White House chief of staff after Trump won a second term in 2024, making her the first woman in U.S. history to hold the position. Replacing her would be one of the most significant personnel moves of Trump’s second term. Trump has publicly denied plans to replace Wiles, saying she has his “COMPLETE confidence.” Wiles “is my loyal and longest serving Chief of Staff — there is a reason for that.
She has been with me since the beginning, is my trusted advisor, and has my COMPLETE confidence," the president said in a statement provided to Newsweek. White House spokesperson Danielle Alvarez also told Newsweek: “These anonymous sources know nothing. President Trump assembled a united team focused on his America First agenda — not the egos and political games of anonymous outsiders.” In recent days, three diplomats closely tied to Trump have been ousted from their positions.
Paolo Zampolli, an Italian-born businessman who has maintained ties with Trump for decades, was ousted from his role as special envoy for global partnerships on Thursday, Politico reported. The news came just hours after the outlet reported on his months-long email fight with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. A U.S. official confirmed to the outlet that Zampolli’s status “as an envoy has been terminated and he is no longer a government employee.” Zampolli told the outlet that he had “absolute zero surprise” that he got fired after the article was published.
Also on Thursday, it was reported that former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is no longer serving as the administration’s special envoy for the Shield of the Americas initiative. A State Department official told CBS News that Noem’s envoy status expired in September and that she now serves as a senior adviser to Landau. The news emerged days after Noem got into a social media spat with Kacey Musgraves after commenting on the singer’s support for Democratic candidate James Talarico in the closely contested Texas Senate race, prompting Musgraves to hit back with a reference to an anecdote Noem revealed in her memoir about shooting her family dog.
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