STAFF WANTED

Secret White House Fear Leaks as Trump Crisis Makes History

You just can’t get the staff anymore.

Donald Trump is running out of time to fix his appointee crisis, according to White House insiders.

The 80-year-old has left a historically large number of Senate-appointed roles vacant during his second term, and now the window to fill them may be closing.

The U.S. is barely a week away from the midterms, which are expected to be a referendum on a record-breakingly unpopular president, sparking talk of a blue wave headed for Congress.

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The unfilled positions are as numerous as they’ve been since President Ronald Reagan, government watchdog Partnership for Public Service said via the Washington Post. After filling 452 spots in his first year, that number has now slowed to 186 names being put forward. At the time of writing, there are 249 Senate-confirmed spots without a nominee.

The newspaper spoke to more than 20 government officials, former officials and close White House allies, who leaked internal concerns about the predicament Trump has created.

Eight of them, all White House and administration insiders, said that they specifically feared the window was closing for Trump to fill key roles before the GOP’s control of the Senate is washed away. These include jobs in national security, immigration, economic policy, energy, and other key administration priorities.

The wider group painted a picture of an administration that, in the second year of its term, has rejigged its approach to appointments to intensify its own scrutiny. It has seen the internal process before any announcement become more deliberative and considered, slowing the rate at which nominees reach the Senate.

The move is said to have left some insiders frustrated.

“At the beginning, every week was a march to get as many appointees as we could in a record amount of time,” former personnel deputy director Trent Morse told the Post. “That’s not the responsibility when you’re in that second year.”

“You’re past that start-up phase, and you’re in a maintenance phase,” he added. “The vetting has to be higher and more thorough.”

Chris Piper, a senior manager at Partnership for Public Service, said that failed nominations, slow confirmations, and poor retention rates have “created a situation in which there’s unprecedented levels of vacancies across leadership positions in the federal government.”

But those in government were reminded this month why thorough vetting matters.

Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s replacement, Katie Zacharia, endured a torrid five-day tenure as the voice of the administration, in what amounted to an unmitigated disaster for the White House.

Her role didn’t require Senate approval, and Trump handpicked her. Questions about her legal qualifications followed, and she was soon headed for the door following a series of shaky media appearances.

October also brought an end to the tenure of ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle—the ex of Donald Trump Jr.—amid concerns about misconduct.

“We’ve seen what happens when people don’t follow those standards,” one official told the Post.

“It is hard work trying to find loyal and talented people,” one source told the paper. “The incentive structure is to never do anything… Imagine you play basketball, but every time you miss a shot, you get benched.”

Some of the anger has been directed at the Office of Presidential Personnel and Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Dan Scavino Jr. Officially, the White House doesn’t feel that way.

“Dan Scavino is one of President Trump’s most loyal, trusted, and longest-serving advisers. He knows the President so well and understands what it takes to succeed working for him,” Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told the Post.

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“Having served throughout the first administration, Dan brings unmatched experience, professionalism, and institutional knowledge. He has earned the president’s trust, and he certainly has mine.”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for further comment.

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Harry ThompsonNews Reporter

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