White House Principle Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley is not aware of any organized effort to purge President Trump’s administration of officials critical of the president, he said Monday on Fox News.
The comment comes amid reports that Trump officials and Republican operatives have been compiling lists of “disloyal” officials to fire and more Trump-friendly candidates to replace them, as reported by Axios. In an appearance on America’s Newsroom, Gidley acknowledged the president wanted to ensure his subordinates supported his agenda, but denied knowing about any lists. (RELATED: Fears Of More Post-Impeachment Purges Grow As Trump Suggests Military Should Punish Vindman)
“Look, if there are any lists, I’ve not seen them,” he said. “But the fact is we know there are people actively working against this president. Because Donald Trump won we got to see, for example, the famous text messages from Lisa Page and Peter Strzok working actively against him. That shouldn’t happen. It shouldn’t happen to any sitting president, as Donald Trump always says. So we will continue to move forward to make sure people are in positions that support this president’s agenda.”
“Are there plans to actively fire any of those people on that list, Hogan?” Host Sandra Smith asked. (RELATED: ‘I Do Make His Job Harder’: Trump Speaks Up On How His Tweets Affect Barr)
Hogan replied, “It’s not a secret we want people in positions that work with this president and not against them. Too often we have people in this government — the federal government is massive with millions of people and there are a lot of people out there working against this president. If we find them we will take appropriate action.”
Axios reported the White House had reviewed several lists of disloyal officials, compiled by sources including Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The report claims the Thomas-led Groundswell network, a group of conservative activists, compiles the lists and has provided them to the White House.