Which Trump Official Will Be Fired First?
This time around, Donald Trump has barely fired any senior officials. But here are five people who could be the first to hear ‘you’re fired!’
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Donald Trump’s second administration has been weirdly ‘stable’ compared to his first term, where he fired more than a dozen senior officials in his first year in office.
Despite a barrage of scandals and mounting chaos, Trump has yet to actually fire any top officials – outside of moving his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, to a new role – which is rather off-brand for the man who rose to fame for pretending to fire people on TV.
As Trump’s first year in office nears its conclusion, here’s a list of the top five candidates who could hear “you’re fired!” sooner, rather than later.
1. Pete Hegseth
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who calls himself the “secretary of war,” could be on the chopping block, and it’s not just the sexual assault allegations or because he texted war plans in a Signal chat that inadvertently included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief.
His latest scandal? Potentially committing a war crime.
Hegseth is in hot water for reportedly giving a spoken directive to kill all crew members aboard an alleged drug boat off the coast of Trinidad. The initial strike on Sept. 2 left two survivors, who were subsequently killed in a second strike in apparent compliance with Hegseth’s order.
While he slammed the reporting as “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory,” lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called an order to kill the remaining survivors a war crime. When asked about the controversy, Trump claimed to not know anything about the strikes and that he wouldn’t have wanted a second attack – while asserting that he trusts Hegseth’s denial.
But look, there’s a solution for everything. So instead of firing Hegseth, Trump could simply amend his title from secretary of war to secretary of war crimes.
Problem solved?
2. RFK Jr.
Though Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his health and human services secretary, have publicly butted heads when it comes to vaccines, it’s not the issue driving them apart – nor is anything health-related, for that matter.
Rather, RFK Jr. is facing backlash for his alleged affair with former New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi, who fell in love with him (brainworm and all) during her coverage of his 2024 presidential campaign.
As the messy details of their affair make the rounds online, the world has now learned more about RFK Jr. than it ever wanted to, thanks to Nuzzi’s ex – who is absolutely furious. From reading his erotic poetry to learning what “felching” is (Google at your own risk), the scandal is a dark cloud raining on RFK Jr.’s already questionable parade.
Firing RFK Jr. would be a major win for public health, and an even bigger win for our collective mental health since we won’t have to hear any more about his “harvest.” What a relief it would be.
3. Howard Lutnick
Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are known to indulge in many Friday-night ice cream sundaes together, but their bromance could melt down at the behest of most White House insiders.
According to Zeteo’s very own Swin Suebsaeng, Lutnick is a leading contender for first out the door. He is widely viewed internally as a loudmouth who often makes life more difficult for Trump and his team, from arguing that seniors wouldn’t care if they failed to receive their monthly Social Security checks to running his mouth about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that Trumpland had worked so hard to cover up.
“Everyone hates the guy,” one senior Trump administration official told Swin, who notes that as much as Lutnick can also annoy Trump himself from time to time, Lutnick continues to operate under the president’s protection.
For now, at least.
4. Kristi Noem
Between shooting her puppy and deporting migrants to foreign gulags, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s cruelty knows no bounds.
But this time, Noem is under fire for a corruption scandal surrounding a flashy, $220 million advertising campaign designed to simultaneously scare immigrants and tout Trump, at taxpayers’ expense.
One company hired for the ad campaign is led by allies of Noem’s adviser and alleged romantic partner, Corey Lewandowski. The second firm hired by DHS is a shell company created just days before it secured the contract. Some of the money has trickled down to a company run by the husband of one of Noem’s top DHS leaders.
It’s not Noem’s first rodeo with suspicious shell companies. Earlier this year, a ProPublica investigation revealed that during her tenure as South Dakota’s governor, a dark money group routed $80,000 to a new company she created.
But perhaps Trump would be honored to learn that she took a page out of his “art of the deal,” and might keep her around until the next, inevitable scandal breaks.
5. Kash Patel
At the top of the chopping block is perhaps none other than FBI Director Kash Patel, who, in a leaked report obtained by the New York Post, is described as not just inexperienced, but a bit of a clout goblin, too.
The day after right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Patel reportedly refused to disembark from the FBI jet in Utah without an FBI raid jacket. Agents working on the Kirk case were sent scrambling to find one, and when they did, it was a female jacket. He reportedly threw a fit when he saw the sleeves were missing Velcro patches. Patel refused to leave the plane until he got the missing patches, which ended up being taken off the jackets of actual SWAT team members.
But the wardrobe malfunction is just the tip of the iceberg, because Patel is no stranger to misusing agency resources to make himself look way cooler than he actually is. He’s used the FBI’s private jet for his personal travel, and even reportedly enlisted SWAT teams as security details for his girlfriend.
While MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) reported Patel is on “thin ice” with Trump, the president has tried to shut down rumors he could fire the FBI director, instead saying he’s doing a “great job.”
But you know what they say: Never let them know your next move.
So, who do you think will be the first out the door? Vote below!
Zeteo’s Melanie Riehl contributed to this piece.
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“So instead of firing Hegseth, Trump could simply amend his title from secretary of war to secretary of war crimes.
Problem solved?”
Pretty snarky! (And funny.)
I vote Kash Patel because he's such a dope!