President Trump signaled that former chief of staff Susie Wiles won’t be the only high-profile administration official out the door in response to the GOP’s brutal midterm elections.
The commander-in-chief teased a potential Cabinet shakeup in a “60 Minutes” interview recorded just hours before Wiles got the boot.
“I do,” Trump told correspondent Ross Douthat when asked if he plans to terminate anyone from his team after Republicans lost their majorities in the House and Senate, according to a clip of the interview released Friday night.
“A little bit,” Trump continued. “I love my Cabinet. I think they’re good, but I’ll be doing maybe a few changes.
“I don’t want to mention who.”
The interview, which will air in full on Sunday, was taped Friday morning.
By the afternoon, Trump announced via Truth Social that he was replacing Wiles with longtime adviser Stephen Miller effective Monday.
“Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!” the president wrote.
In his interview with “60 Minutes,” Trump was also asked if he had confidence in War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who may face an impeachment with vote when the House reconvenes next week.
“I do,” the president responded. “Look, we’ve won two wars. We’ve won Venezuela and taken out billions and billions and billions of dollars already, and we will be taking out many billions of dollars … we won that war in less than one hour.”
When asked if he credits Hegseth with the successful Venezuela operation, Trump responded: “No, but he was a part of it.”
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have questioned the Pentagon chief’s leadership and judgment ahead of the potential impeachment vote.
Earlier this week, Hegseth ruled out voluntarily leaving his post.
“Just like the president. We don’t back down. And that especially applies now,” Hegseth declared in a nearly six-minute video message Thursday.
Read the full article here
