White House Purge Rumblings: Kelly, McMaster, Carson, Shulkin On Chopping Block
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Thu, 03/15/2018
There are fresh rumors out of the West Wing that H.R. McMaster and John Kelly are the next dominoes to fall in what some White House employees are referring to as a “purge,” reports CBS correspondent Major Garrett.
The next to go could be National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster, expected to be replaced by former Bush administration official and frequent Fox News analyst John Bolton. Bolton is a hawk on Iran and North Korea, like new Secretary of State nominee and current CIA chief Mike Pompeo.
The man brought in last summer to impose order in the White House, Chief of Staff John Kelly, may also be on the way out, according to congressional and administration sources. -CBS News
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin may also receive a pink slip, after the VA Inspector General determined that Shulkin used taxpayer dollars on a lavish trip to Europe for his wife. The money was repaid after it became public.
Trump joked last summer about firing Shulkin, who would be replaced by Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
“It will be properly implemented, right David? It better be David, or [mouths “you’re fired”]. We’ll never have to use those words on our David,” Mr. Trump said.
HUD director Ben Carson’s job is also at risk, after a $31,000 order for an office dining room set was discovered and subsequently canceled.
So far over 20 senior administration staffers have been fired, resigned or reassigned. Last week, Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman wrote that Trump is reportedly “tired of being reined in,” and is ready to clean the slate in the West Wing to his liking.
With the departures of Hope Hicks and Gary Cohn, the Trump presidency is entering a new phase—one in which Trump is feeling liberated to act on his impulses. “Trump is in command. He’s been in the job more than a year now. He knows how the levers of power work. He doesn’t give a fuck,” the Republican said. Trump’s decision to circumvent the policy process and impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum reflects his emboldened desire to follow his impulses and defy his advisers. “It was like a fuck-you to Kelly,” a Trump friend said. “Trump is red-hot about Kelly trying to control him.” -VF
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