Defense
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster during a panel discussing UN reform before the 72nd UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, September 18, 2017.
- The White House is reportedly at a crossroads as staffers and some members of President Donald Trump's cabinet are eyeing the exits.
- National-security adviser H.R. McMaster and White House counsel Don McGahn are believed to be among those considering leaving the White House.
- Staffers have painted a bleak picture of some of the chaos roiling the Trump administration.
The Trump administration could see increased turnover as more White House staffers and some members of Trump's cabinet eye the exits.
Two senior officials - national-security adviser H.R. McMaster and White House counsel Don McGahn - are among those rumored to leave the administration, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources close to the White House.
The chatter follows what had already been a year of heavy turnover in the White House. As a result, chief of staff John Kelly has sought to organize any potential departures looming ahead of this year's midterm elections in order to mute the appearance of disorder, CNN said.
Kelly is reportedly trying to fill as much of the administration's roster as possible by the end of the month, but some familiar headwinds remain. One of the biggest of those being a lack of qualified professionals willing to attach themselves to a West Wing helmed by Trump, who has found himself embroiled in near-constant controversy since taking office.
Kelly has reportedly taken the brunt of the responsibility for staffing since he was named chief of staff last summer, CNN said..
"Kelly is eating bullets every day by himself and doesn't have a lot of help," one source familiar with the situation said to CNN. "He needs reinforcements."
The ongoing Russia investigation hasn't helped. The developments in the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller have weighed on current Trump staffers and reportedly caused apprehension among potential newcomers.
"It's been a year, but doesn't it feel like a decade?" one senior administration official said to CNN.