President Donald Trump has set an all-time record for cabinet turnover during a president’s first term, firing, forcing out, or receiving resignations from 38 members since his inauguration.
Some have chosen to write books about their experiences, and others have taken to reality television, or chosen to drop out of the public eye altogether. Here’s what some of the biggest names are up to now.
Sean Spicer:
- Press Secretary, resigned July 2017
- Now: Dancing With The Stars
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 11: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer answers reporters’ questions during the daily news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Spicer resigned from his post as press secretary soon after Trump announced the hiring of Anthony Scaramucci for communications director. Spicer vehemently protested bringing on Scaramucci, and he ultimately chose to resign July 21, 2017 after Trump went through with the hiring.
Today, Spicer is earning a living on Dancing with the Stars, a television show on ABC that pairs public figures with professional dancers and pits the teams against each other to see who comes out on top. Spicer is deep into the competition, and even Trump encouraged his supporters on Twitter to vote for Spicer.
Vote for good guy @seanspicer tonight on Dancing With The Stars. He has always been there for us!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2019
Anthony Scaramucci:
- Communications Director, fired July 2017
- Now: Devoted member of the Trump #Resistance
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 25: Incoming White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci talks with reporters during ‘Regional Media Day’ at the White House July 25, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Scaramucci’s hiring was widely seen as a move by Trump to encourage Spicer to resign, as Spicer fiercely opposed bringing him on. The president announced his hiring on July 21, 2017 and Spicer announced his resignation later that day. Scaramucci himself didn’t last much longer, getting fired July 31, 2017 after bad-mouthing other staff members to a reporter for the New Yorker.
Today, The Mooch is one of the president’s most fervent critics. He published an op-ed in the Washington Post announcing his turn against the president in August 2019. Since then, he has frequently appeared on CNN and other outlets to predict the doom of the president. He also published a book about his 11 days in the White House in October 2018.
Nikki Haley:
- UN Ambassador, resigned October 2018
- Now: Publishing a book, mulling 2024 presidential run
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Crisis in the Middle East at the UN headquarters in New York, April 17, 2018. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)
Haley was popular as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., delivering several bombshell speeches to American adversaries, including the U.N. Human Rights Council. Her resignation came as a surprise to everyone, with her only saying she wanted to take more time to spend with her family.
Today, she has a memoir set to be released Nov. 12, and recently purchased a large home in South Carolina, further stoking rumors that she is contemplating a presidential run in 2024.
Reince Priebus:
- Chief of Staff, forced out July 2017
- Now: Joined the Navy
Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
Priebus joined the Trump administration straight from the Republican Party infrastructure where he served as Chairman for the Republican National Committee since 2011. He served Trump for six months before getting forced out during Scaramucci’s brief tenure.
Today, he was selected to join the U.S. Navy with backing from former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Vice President Mike Pence swore Priebus in on June 10, 2019. He also published a book about his time at the White House in 2018.
Jim Mattis:
- Secretary of Defense, resigned December 2018
- Now: Publishing memoir, avoiding questions about the president
U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis arrives for a meeting with Ho Chi Minh City’s communist party chief Nguyen Thien Nhan in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, October 16, 2018. (REUTERS/Kham/Pool)
Mattis resigned from his position as Defense Secretary after Trump announced his intention to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. Mattis sent a letter stating that the president would be better served by a defense secretary who agreed with his policy goals.
Today, Mattis is promoting a memoir while dodging questions aimed at getting him to criticize the president. He did take a swipe at Trump on Thursday after the president called Mattis “the world’s most overrated general.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders:
- Press Secretary, resigned June 2019
- Now: Mulling run for governor in Arkansas, Fox News contributor
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – JUNE 18: U.S. President Donald Trump stands with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who announced that she is stepping down as the White House press secretary. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Sanders’s tenure as Trump’s press secretary was tumultuous, seeing several battles with CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta, and widespread criticism from the media at large. She resigned to spend more time with her family at the end of June 2019.
Today, she has moved to Arkansas and launched a new personal website. Her relationship with Trump takes center stage on the site, stoking suspicions that she plans to run for governor of Arkansas as a Trump Republican. Trump nominated Sanders to the Fulbright Scholarship Board earlier in October and she is also a Fox News contributor.
Jeff Sessions:
- Attorney General, fired November 2018
- Now: Withdrawing from political life
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (L) and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross watch the solar eclipse from the Truman Balcony at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 21, 2017 REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was one of Trump’s earliest supporters. As a long-standing senator, he seemed to give Trump’s campaign at least a degree of early legitimacy with an endorsement. As attorney general, Sessions pursued tough-on-crime policies but was eventually fired at least partially due to Trump’s dissatisfaction with his handling of the Russia investigation and disagreements with other administrators.
Today, Sessions has largely withdrawn from public life. He said he doesn’t miss being a senator in December 2018 and hasn’t announced any plans to run for his old Alabama seat. He has qualified that he still supports the president despite being fired.
Steve Bannon:
- Chief Strategist, fired August 2017
- Now: Making movies about China
Steve Bannon. (Getty Images/Joe Raedle)
Bannon’s influence in the Trump White House was once considered so great that the media called him “President Bannon.” Then, Trump fired him in 2017 and gave him the nick-name “Sloppy Steve.”
The political strategist then backed Roy Moore’s Alabama senate run, which fell apart amid accusations of pedophilia. Bannon attempted a retreat back to Breitbart, the news outlet he ran before joining the Trump administration, but he was forced out in early 2018.
Today, Bannon makes semi-frequent appearances on national television to offer analysis on news of the day. He is also the executive producer for the film Claws of the Red Dragon, a political thriller based on the legal battle surrounding Canada’s arrest of a Chinese tech executive.