White House turmoil erupts as Trump axes Zacharia, backs Wiles

Infighting gripping Donald Trump’s White House spilled into public view this week, with the abrupt exit of his hand-picked press secretary and the president forced to quash swirling questions about his chief of staff’s future.

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The palace intrigue threatens to distract the White House at an already fraught moment, with just over two weeks until a midterm election that could reshape the balance of power in Washington. Polls show Republicans are poised to lose control of Congress, which would stymie the president’s legislative agenda and open up him and his administration to investigations.

First, White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was removed from her role on just her fifth day on the job following a messy start that led Trump to publicly suggest she find other work.

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While he cut bait on one aide, the president offered a full-throated endorsement of another, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, after a week of private backbiting against her leadership. “She’s phenomenal,” he told reporters. “She’s going to be here for a long time.”

The developments recalled the frenzied staff turmoil that defined Trump’s first term, which his team has sought to avoid this time around. Whether Trump’s moves will quell the unrest remains to be seen.

Wiles has come under fire from some in the president’s orbit in recent days but is not at risk of being removed, people familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal dynamics at the White House.

“I think Susie is still in very, very good standing with the president, still going to have influence,” Mick Mulvaney, a former acting chief of staff to Trump, told Bloomberg Television on Friday, describing the relationship between her and her boss as “good.”

“Whether or not she’s there very much longer is anybody’s guess,” he added. “After the midterm would be an appropriate time for a chief of staff to leave anyway.”

Trump unilaterally picked Zacharia to replace Karoline Leavitt, who left as press secretary in August, a hiring decision that Wiles was not closely involved in, some of the people said. Zacharia’s remarkably short tenure included a brief press conference where she took only three questions, an onslaught of scrutiny over whether she misrepresented herself as a lawyer and a series of rocky television interviews.

“No one is distracted by fake news. This team is strong, united, and focused on President Donald Trump, delivering his America First agenda, and winning the midterms,” White House spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez said. “The anonymous ‘sources’ peddling this nonsense are self-serving opportunists focused on themselves. We’re focused on the president and the American people.”

Zacharia had briefly settled into a smaller West Wing office — not the typical press secretary’s digs — a placement that in retrospect foreshadowed her short time in the job.

While she only fielded questions from conservative media outlets in formal settings, Zacharia did not escape their scrutiny. She faced a grilling on Trump-friendly Fox News, including from host Sean Hannity, raising eyebrows in Washington.

Trump blamed the press for being “nasty” to Zacharia, but the television-obsessed president also told reporters Friday that he had advised his press secretary to reconsider whether to stay on. News of her ouster emerged minutes later.

It was one of several departures this week. In her lone press briefing, it was Zacharia who announced the exit of Trump’s ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle amid an internal watchdog investigation. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Paolo Zampolli, a close personal friend of Trump’s, also departed from roles as global envoys.

Wiles, meanwhile, solidified her footing after a week of reports that she might be on the hot seat and that other Trumpworld figures had begun jockeying for position were she to leave. Zacharia’s swift exit underscores Wiles’ apparent lack of involvement in the hire.

Several of the people familiar with the dynamics acknowledged tensions within Trump’s orbit but downplayed the risks facing Wiles, saying she wants to remain in her role but that a voluntary departure could not be ruled out. One person said those targeting Wiles are only weakening Trump’s administration in a bid to claim her job.

The chief of staff role is one of the most grueling in Washington and turnover is normal. President Joe Biden’s first chief, Ron Klain, stepped down a few months after the 2022 midterms. Trump’s first chief, Reince Priebus, lasted less than a year. Wiles is already the longest-tenured permanent chief of staff Trump has had.

Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is widely considered a potential successor to Wiles, while Politico reported that Trump has also inquired about possible candidates such as federal housing chief Bill Pulte, a staunch ally.

Wiles had long sought to tamp down infighting, those efforts faltered in recent weeks as scrutiny fell on two Trump operatives aligned with her, James Blair and Chris LaCivita, for work they did for the pro-Russian government of Republika Srpska. Wiles’ daughter also works for a firm paid to represent the Balkan territory.

The involvement of LaCivita and Blair appeared to anger Trump, who posted on social media last week that “if there’s a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!”

Several of Wiles’ closest allies have also left the administration, including Blair and fellow former deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich. Blair is technically on leave from his role to lead Trump’s political operation.

Budowich came to Wiles’ defense on social media Friday, posting after Trump’s vote of confidence: “Long live the Ice Maiden.”

Wiles has remained in her role during a challenging year, in which she underwent treatment for cancer. Amid the furor, one Wiles ally said she was responding by simply soldiering on in the job.

Trump has regularly praised her but also has a history of professing support for individuals before shake-ups. Mulvaney said a former colleague teased him Friday by sending a story in which Trump had gone to bat for him.

“I was gone two weeks later,” Mulvaney said.

As for Zacharia, White House officials said she would transition to a new role without specifying where. She and her family dined Friday evening with Vice President JD Vance at his Washington residence.

—With assistance from Maggie Eastland, Catherine Lucey, Kate Sullivan, Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Kailey Leinz.

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