Turnover during second Trump term surpasses first: Analysis

Administration Turnover during second Trump term surpasses first: Analysis Comments: by Max Rego - 07/22/26 5:26 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Max Rego - 07/22/26 5:26 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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The number of Senate-confirmed officials who have left their roles in the Trump administration is more than double the amount of departures at this point of President Trump’s first term, according to a new analysis from the Partnership for Public Service.

Over the last 18 months, 27 such officials have left their posts, equating to 11.4 percent of confirmed officials, the analysis from the nonprofit shows. That surpasses the 11 officials who departed during the span from Trump’s 2017 inauguration through July 20, 2018.

In fact, the turnover during the president’s second term so far also has exceeded the total number of departures in the first 18 months of the terms of former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

During the first two weeks of July alone, four Senate-confirmed officials left the administration — including Tina Pierce, the former chief financial officer at the Energy Department, and Maj. Gen. John Bartrum, who served as undersecretary of health at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Three Cabinet secretaries have left their posts this year: Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi and Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who oversaw the departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Justice (DOJ) and Labor, respectively. Noem is serving as the administration’s special envoy to a coalition of nations targeting drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.

Markwayne Mullin has taken over at DHS, while Trump nominated acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the full-time post last month. Blanche had his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, and the panel will vote on Thursday regarding whether to advance his nomination to the full Senate floor.

Trump tapped Keith Sonderling, the acting Labor secretary, to succeed Chavez-DeRemer. Sonderling testified in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last week.

The analysis from the Partnership for Public Service also noted that four confirmed officials have left the Health and Human Services Department under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while six have left the Treasury Department under Secretary Scott Bessent.

The report also stated Trump has made 578 nominations, fewer than every presidential administration dating back to former President Reagan.

One position that has featured no turnover, though, is the president’s chief of staff. Susie Wiles, who was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, has served in the role for the entirety of his second term.

Wiles is already Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, as four individuals held the role during his first term: Reince Priebus, John Kelly, Mick Mulvaney and Mark Meadows.