Mass exodus underway tonight from Donald Trump’s failing White House
It turns out this week’s departure of staffer Rob Porter in a domestic violence scandal was merely the beginning of an avalanche of controversial resignations from Donald Trump’s failing White House. As the traditional Friday night news dump continues to play out tonight, it’s becoming clear that this is anything but business as usual. Trump’s key people in big and small positions are suddenly beating a path to the exit today.
The highest profile departure tonight is that of Rachel Brand, the No. 3 at the Department of Justice. This may or may not be relevant to Robert Mueller’s investigation of the Trump-Russia scandal; we’ll have to see how that plays out. For now it appears Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein isn’t going anywhere, meaning he’ll remain in charge of the Trump-Russia investigation, and thus Robert Mueller is still safe. But two other departures from the Trump White House tonight are more immediately scandalous, each for different reasons.
White House speechwriter David Sorensen just resigned hours ago, amid accusations of domestic abuse against his ex-wife (link). This storyline is remarkably similar to that of Rob Porter. Sorensen denies the allegations, but it appears he’s trying to quietly beat a path out the door before his departure becomes as controversial as that of Porter. There has also been yet another controversial departure tonight, which may be a sign that yet another is in the works.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff John Carroll has resigned tonight, and he’s being appointed White House Drug Czar (link). There isn’t known to be any specific scandal behind it. But Carroll had only been on the job for three months, and this is a major step downward for him, so it’s clear there’s something controversial going on here. This comes even as Carroll’s immediate supervisor, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, is said to have offered his own resignation in the wake of the Porter coverup. Is Carroll bailing because he thinks Kelly is the next to go?
