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What everyone who's fled or been fired from the Trump White House is up to now
What everyone who's fled or been fired from the Trump White House is up to now
Áine CainMar 10, 2018, 03:08 IST
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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Trump's White House has seen a number of high profile departures since the earliest days of the administration.
Gary Cohn, Omarosa Manigault, Hope Hicks, and Steve Bannon are only a few of the people who have left.
Some Trump administration alumni have gone back to their roots, while others have embarked on totally new ventures.
Donald Trump's White House has a doozy of a turnover rate.
NPR reported that 43% of top-level White House positions have seen turnover under Trump, who has had more fluctuation among senior aides than "his four most recent predecessors had after two years."
Some of these top advisers were fired. Other officials decided to leave on their own, for various reasons. For example, top economic adviser Gary Cohn recently announced his intent to resign after failing to convince the president to forgo implementing steel and aluminum tariffs.
Either way, many commentators have pointed out that sieve-like nature of the White House seems to speak to a turbulent environment. That's a characterization which Trump himself has disputed. "There is no Chaos, only great Energy!" he tweeted.
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So what happens to the people who leave? What sort of roles have Trump administration alumni been able to pick up once they exit the White House?
It's too early to tell for most recent departures, like Hope Hicks and Cohn. Former officials like Reince Priebus and Dina Powell have returned to their private sector roots. And still others are embarking on totally new ventures.
Here's a look at where all of the White House's high-profile departures are today, from most to least recent departures:
Gary Cohn only just announced his resignation from his post as director of the National Economic Council. His departure came after he failed to convince the president to nix his plans for implementing steel and aluminum tariffs.
Cohn hasn't yet given any indication about where he's heading next. That hasn't stopped people from speculating, though.
Bloomberg spoke to a number of business leaders about what Cohn might try his hand at next. Suggestions included teaming up with Elon Musk on SpaceX, building an entirely new business, writing a tell-all, and just relaxing for six months.
Hope Hicks has plenty of time to plan out her next steps
Industry experts have speculated that she'll have plenty of time to figure out her next steps. The Wrap reported that she may take on a year-long "cooling off" period in order to become a lobbyist. According to Variety, Hicks' involvement in the Rob Porter scandal and the Mueller investigation may prove a stumbling block, but isn't expected to have a major impact on her career.
Rob Porter — who was accused of physical abuse by his two ex-wives — hasn't updated his LinkedIn since leaving the White House
Former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter's February 2018 resignation came in the wake of a firestorm sparked by allegations of physical abuse.
One of his ex-wives, Colbie Holderness, provided the Daily Mail with photos of a black eye she said her then-husband gave her.
Bloomberg also reported that Powell will return to Goldman Sachs as part of the company's influential management committee. Before she joined the White House team, she was a managing director and partner at the financial institution.
Andrew McCabe was originally supposed to retire in March
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe stepped down from his role in January 2018. CNN reported he was initally supposed to retire in March, but used his accumulated leave to retire earlier.
It's not clear what McCabe has been up to since leaving his government role.
Omarosa Manigault is on reality TV
Omarosa Manigault left her position as Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison in the White House in December 2017. A number of dramatic stories describing her firing circulated in the wake of her departure.
But Vanity Fair declared the former Trump staffer to be "one of the most successful Trump exiles yet." She's now on the reality television show "Celebrity Big Brother."
Tom Price still has political supporters in Georgia
It's not clear if former Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price has returned to practicing medicine in the wake of his September 2017 dissmissal from the Trump administration. He was an Atlanta-based orthopedic surgeon for years before he entered the world of politics.
But a career in politics might still be in the cards for Price.
Still, Gorka has since landed a number of post-White House roles.
He's now a consultant and lecturer at the Heritage Foundation, a national security strategist at Fox News, and a non-resident scholar at the Institute of World Politics.
Steve Bannon is out at Breitbart and planning a comeback
Even after leaving the White House in August 2017, it was widely reported that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon would continue to wield influence over the president through the far-right website Breitbart News. Bannon co-founded the site, and served as its executive chairman.
However, when it was revealed that Bannon had made disparaging remarks about Trump in the book "Fire and Fury," he was ousted from Breitbart in January 2018. Reports indicated that Rebekah Mercer, a right wing donor and longtime Breitbart supporter, had forced him out.
According to a February 2018 GQ profile, Bannon is currently "holed up" in the townhouse that was once Breitbart's Capitol Hill location, studying the Time's Up movement, mulling over US relations with China, Iran, and Turkey, and planning to launch a new political group focused on "the weaponizing of ideas."
Anthony Scaramucci has launched an online media venture
Anthony Scaramucci's brief stint at White House Communications director ended July 31, 2017.
He's gone on to launch a digital venture called the Scaramucci Post.
The Hill reported that Scaramucci has said, "We have no idea what the Scaramucci Post is and neither do you. But, we launched it today and we launched with great fanfare and so we'll have to see how the whole thing unfolds."
The Scaramucci Post's Twitter feed has since focused on the topic of the American opoiod epidemic, posting articles on the crisis and interacting with those affected by the issue.
He's also appearanced on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" to discuss baseball and politics.
Reince Priebus went back to private practice
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus submitted his resignation in July 2017.
After leaving the Trump administration, Priebus returned to his roots. He became the president and chief strategist for national law firm Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. Earlier in his career, Priebus had become a partner at the firm in 2006.
Sean Spicer has a book coming out
Sean Spicer's most notable post-White House moment came about when he made a surprise appearance at the Emmy Awards.
He is also working on a book about his time in the administration.
Despite the book deal, high profile cameo, and foray into the Ivy League, the Independent reported that Spicer had trouble landing a long term gig on cable news.
Michael Dubke now sits on the board of two conservative organizations
After serving as the White House Communications Director for three months, Michael Dubke resigned in May 2017.
Dubke is still a partner at the Black Rock Group. His biography states that Dubke sits on the board of the Franklin Center for Public Policy Exchange, a news organization with a free market bent. He also sits on the board of the Ripon Society, a conservative public policy organization.
Walter Shaub has become a vocal critic of the Trump administration
Former Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub resigned in July 2017, saying that the Trump administration was "close to a laughingstock" and calling for tighter ethics regulations.
Shaub has continued to blast the White House, telling the Guardian that Trump's administration runs the risk of being seen as a "kleptocracy" over perceived conflicts of interest.
Shaub is now the senior director of ethics at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, which focuses on election law issues.
James Comey is writing a book, and teaching a course at the College of William and Mary
USA Today reported that Yates has become a distinguished lecturer at Georgetown Law.
Preet Bharara lectures at NYU and interviews prominent guests on his weekly podcast
In a controversial move, the Trump administration dismissed US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara after he refused to resign.
The former White House deputy chief of staff resigned on March 30, 2017. Katie Walsh took on advisory roles at the Republican National Committee and pro-Trump political group America First Policies.
But Bloomberg reported that her two post-White House roles were put in jeopardy when it was revealed that she was quoted in Michael Wolff's bombshell "Fire and Fury."
America First Policies president Brian Walsh told the Daily Caller that there were no plans to remove Walsh.
