Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is offering President Trump some free advice. Seeing staffer after staffer leave his administration, Johnson is warning the president to hold on to the few he has left. In other words, reject those resignations. Especially, he said, if they come from Defense Secretary James Mattis, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster or Chief of Staff John Kelly.
“I’d say absolutely not” if they asked me if they should resign, Johnson said.
They need to “right the ship," he said. (The Hill)
It's unlikely Trump is going to accept the advice of the previous administration. However, he also can't afford to lose many more members of his cabinet. In the past month, he has said goodbye to his Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci (who lasted 10 days), his Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and, most recently, his Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon.
None of their exits were particularly quiet. Scaramucci gave a profanity-laced bombshell of an interview to The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza. He apparently thought their conversation was off-the-record. He soon discovered it wasn't, and his true feelings about Priebus and Bannon were the public's to behold. Bannon had a similar experience with The American Prospect. He vented his frustration with his White House enemies and the president's misdirected foreign policy, only to find his confidential remarks in print.
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With so much turnaround and distracting palace intrigue, Johnson is urging Trump to keep what staff he has left intact.
It is particularly important that Trump be on the same page with his advisors, considering he is soon going to be addressing the American people about his plans for Afghanistan and as he continues to deal with an aggressive North Korea.
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