That’s a remarkable level of turnover for just one term. Trump’s immediate predecessors, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, saw just a handful of departures each in their first terms.
What may be more remarkable than all the people who left are the ones who stayed for the duration of Trump’s time in office. Only six look poised to have lasted from the beginning to the end — Steven Mnuchin at Treasury, Sonny Perdue at Agriculture, Wilbur Ross at Commerce, Ben Carson at Housing and Urban Development, Elaine Chao at Transportation and Betsy DeVos at Education.
These six Trump survivors have little in common. Some are veterans of government, while others were political novices when they joined the administration. A few accomplished a lot during their tenure and played key roles on important issues. Others faded into the background.
They all however managed to do the one thing that has seemed to be the most difficult in an exceedingly chaotic administration — avoid Trump’s ire. They have, by and large, escaped major scandal, survived internal fights, and perhaps most importantly, remained unfailingly loyal to the boss. That’s not always kept them from getting on Trump’s bad side. But on net, the survivors have stayed in his good graces, and in many cases, safely out of his sight.
Here’s a look at the legacy of the Trump administration survivors from the last four years.
Steven Mnuchin
One of the original Cabinet positions, the Treasury Secretary is often a close political ally to the President. Treasury’s headquarters is literally next door to the White House. Steven Mnuchin, a veteran of Goldman Sachs and hedge-fund management, has certainly filled that role. An early supporter of Trump’s, Mnuchin joined the campaign in 2016 as finance chairman and was rewarded with the plum appointment.
Intensely loyal to Trump, Mnuchin has not veered out of his lane at Treasury and shuns the spotlight. Early in the administration, it was his new wife, the Scottish actress Louise Linton, who attracted more attention in the nation’s capital. And with every controversy, from the President’s response to the 2017 Charlottesville protests on, Mnuchin has not offered one bit of daylight between him and Trump.
He has also been a savvy operator within the Cabinet, forging strategic relationships with others, including Trump’s one-time favorite, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
While Mnuchin often remained out of Trump’s public crosshairs, the President often derided him privately for recommending appointing Jerome Powell as the chair of the Federal Reserve. He often joked — semi-seriously, sources said — that no matter how good of a deal Mnuchin brought him, he was still responsible for Powell.
Among Mnuchin’s achievements are the 2017 tax bill, which he helped draft and advocated for on Capitol Hill. He’s also been a dutiful executor of tariffs and sanctions on China,…
Read More: Donald Trump survivors: Six Cabinet officials who stuck it out