Trump Maintains Loyal Cabinet in 2025 Presidency Despite Past High Turnover
Donald Trump resumed the presidency in January 2025 and has kept his cabinet largely intact, marking a significant change from his first term, which experienced the highest cabinet turnover in a century during the initial 14 months.
Trump publicly praises his cabinet as "fantastic" and denies reports of dissatisfaction with key officials such as defense secretary Pete Hegseth and homeland security secretary Kristi Noem.
Analysts observe that Trump's current staffing strategy emphasizes loyalty first, with officials bound more by personal allegiance than by institutional independence.
Several controversies involve cabinet members, including Hegseth's misuse of the Signal app and Caribbean operations, Noem's spending and feud with border czar Tom Homan, FBI director Kash Patel's handling of investigations, and DNI Tulsi Gabbard's warning about nuclear dangers.
The closest cabinet change involved national security adviser Mike Waltz, who was replaced by Marco Rubio, later appointed as US ambassador to the United Nations.
Replacing cabinet members now would require Senate confirmations, which have recently been narrow: Hegseth was confirmed by one vote, while Gabbard and RFK Jr. each secured confirmation by two votes.
With Trump's approval ratings falling and midterm elections approaching, Senate skepticism is rising. Republicans in Congress are less compliant than the previous year, potentially complicating any efforts to replace cabinet members.
