Multiple sources inside and outside the White House cited a variety of reasons for the exodus already underway, ranging from the urgent need for employment to a palpable disgust with Trump’s ill-fated election challenges.
One source familiar with the situation said Trump’s refusal to accept defeat has unnerved some staffers who worry the President is tarnishing his own legacy and, more critically, eroding voters’ faith in US elections. Others have said they understood the odds were high that they’d need to find new jobs soon, and they prepared to make career moves regardless of how the President reacted to defeat.
A separate senior administration official described a “toxic” work environment among the dwindling number of West Wing staffers. While the Trump White House was never the model of a functional workplace, the lack of direction and sense of defeat during Trump’s lame duck period has sharpened divides among staffers facing the prospect of potential unemployment.
“I think people are moving on because they have families or livelihoods to support,” the official said.
“That, and the place is becoming more toxic by the day … people turning on each other, trying to settle scores while they can,” the official added.
The White House did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.
“A great person who did a fantastic job. Thank you, Alyssa!” Trump tweeted on Friday.
One White House adviser, who is in the process of interviewing some departing administration staffers, said there is a growing acceptance that there will not be a second Trump administration, at least not beginning on January 20, 2021.
“Some are moving on,” the White House adviser said. “It’s time.”
The adviser said it is understandable that aides have become irritated with Trump’s stubbornness. But the adviser noted they signed on to work for Trump.
“No one expects him to concede. No one!” the adviser said.
Mass staff exits from administrations occur at the end of every presidency, whether that comes after two terms or at the end of one that is cut short by an election loss. But Trump’s refusal to concede the race and acknowledge the coming change has forced top staffers — some of them longtime loyalists — into a deeply uncomfortable position with just weeks to go before their paychecks stop arriving.
After John McEntee, head of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, issued a warning to administration staffers that any caught looking for a job could be fired — a warning that leaked to the press and was widely reported last month — many political aides across the…
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