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Trump’s Top Goons Fear Their Days Are Numbered: Political Guru

The White House could face a major shakeup once voters have their say in the midterms.

Top Trump administration officials may already be weighing their next career moves ahead of a potential post-midterm staffing purge, political analyst David Rothkopf suggested.

Rothkopf told The Daily Beast Podcast host Joanna Coles that some of President Donald Trump’s most prominent officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, may be bracing for a major shakeup once the midterm elections come to pass.

A photo illustration for The Daily Beast podcast Trump on sinking boat.

Donald Trump.

Photo Illustration by The Daily /Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty

“There are a bunch of people in the White House right now who are waiting for the Night of the Long Knives that is undoubtedly going to follow this election,” he said, invoking the name of the Nazi regime’s bloody 1934 purge of political rivals.

Rothkopf continued, “Even typically in most administrations, sort of halfway through, you get some turnover. But if you’re Kash Patel, or you’re Pete Hegseth, or you’re RFK Jr., or you’re Susie Wiles, or you’re some of these other characters who are out there, you’re probably thinking, ‘How much longer do I have? What’s my next job?’”

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 2, 2025.

Trump's closest allies might get the boot if Republicans face a midterms disaster, Rothkopf said.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Next week’s midterm elections could prove pivotal for the second Trump administration. Democrats are seeking to regain control of the House and potentially the Senate, a shift that could expose Trump to renewed impeachment proceedings.

Trump, 80, is heading into the midterms with a dismal 34 percent approval rating—the lowest recorded for any president at this point in his term since Harry Truman in 1946—according to a New York Times/Siena University poll released last week.

His wildly unpopular war in Iran has contributed to surging global energy prices, leaving Americans paying more at the pump since March.

The political expert speculated that Trump may already be considering whom to fire, which “would be a good thing, because these are good people to get rid of.”

“The problem is, as we have seen, Trump doesn’t sort of trade up,” Rothkopf explained. “The longer he gets into his term, he trades down, and we get, you know, the less good version of Kash Patel, the less sane version of RFK Jr., the... more demented version of Pete Hegseth. And, you know, yuck.”

Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel celebrate Donald Trump's inauguration.

Patel and Hegseth are two top Trump goons at risk at getting the ax, according to Rothkopf.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

As an example, Rothkopf floated the possibility that Hegseth could be replaced by his Christian nationalist preacher ally, Pastor Doug Jones.

“There’s going to be so much churn that I’d just advise everybody, you know, keep your powder dry,” Rothkopf said. “Election Day is going to be interesting.”

The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.

“Between the challenges to the election and the fact that the day after the election is over, campaign 2028 begins, and that the Democrats are going to be jamming into the doorways to get attention and to become the leading candidates, the next few months are going to be crazy,” Rothkopf concluded.

New episodes of The Daily Beast Podcast are released every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday on YouTube, and on other podcast platforms the next morning. Follow our new feed on your favorite podcast platform at beast.pub/dailybeastpod and subscribe on YouTube to watch full episodes.

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